The Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Guangzhou held the King’s Day reception on April 27 in Guangzhou, capital city of south China’s Guangdong province.
Guests at the King’s Day reception. (Photo provided to GDToday)
Ye Zhenqin, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of Guangdong Provincial People’s Congress, noted that the exchanges between China and the Netherlands can date back to 400 years ago through the Maritime Silk Road. “And it has been 26 years since the establishment of the Netherlands Consulate General in Guangzhou.”
He furthered that Netherlands-Guangdong cooperation has made solid achievements in fields of agriculture, water, science and technology, electronics, new energy, and finance, and expected to strengthen the partnership when Guangdong is dedicated to developing the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, comprehensively deepening reform, expanding high-standard opening-up, and taking the lead in Chinese modernization.
To stress the deep cooperation between the Netherlands and Guangdong, Frank van Beuningen, consul general of the Netherlands in Guangzhou, reminded the guests that the Canton Tower, which is the landmark of Guangzhou, was designed by Dutch architects Mark Hemel and Barbara Kuit.
He furthered that Dutch companies will continue to be highly active in China, and announced that the Netherlands Business Support Office will open a new branch in Shenzhen in the coming months. “This will give an extra boost to the already strong economic and trade ties between the Netherlands and south China.”
“The Netherlands continues to attract many innovative companies from China. Today, companies from south China have set up around 200 business operations in the Netherlands,” van Beuningen added.
“Spring is the season of birth of new lives. I hope that the growth of spring characterizes the future of the relationship between China and the Netherlands,” he noted.
Frank van Beuningen, consul general of the Netherlands in Guangzhou, delivered a speech at the King’s Day reception. (Photo provided to GDToday)
Representatives from the governments of Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, and Hainan, Dutch companies, and cultural sectors, as well as foreign diplomats in Guangzhou attended the reception.
Reporter | Lydia Liu
Editor | Wing, Steven, James
Zhang Xiao (intern) also contributed to the story.
