China calls on Netherlands to ‘adhere to strategic autonomy’, as US restrictions weigh on trade
- Premier Li Qiang spoke with Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte on Tuesday and discussed global supply chains, trade cooperation, the climate and the war in Ukraine
- The Dutch have been caught up in the US-China tech war after Washington banned high-end chip supplies to China in October
Chinese Premier Li Qiang has hailed the Netherlands as a “priority partner” within the European Union and called for jointly maintaining the operations of global supply chains, making him the latest high-ranking official to curry favour with the Hague and Brussels amid heightened tensions with the United States.
“[China] is willing to work together [with the Netherlands] to promote cooperation in various sectors to yield new results,” he said during a phone call with his Dutch counterpart on Tuesday, according to Xinhua.
While there was no mention of the United States in the report, Li highlighted the importance of jointly maintaining the smooth flow of the world’s industrial and supply chains.
“[China] hopes the Netherlands can help ensure that Europe will adhere to strategic autonomy, making greater contributions to the development of China-Europe ties,” he said.
In a Twitter post, Rutte said of his call with Li: “We discussed topics including our countries’ cooperation on trade and climate. Views were also exchanged on the war in Ukraine.”
The Netherlands has been caught in the crossfire of China-US tensions. Given pressure from Washington, the Dutch government has never granted ASML a licence to sell its most advanced products to Chinese customers.