China–Netherlands relations officially began in November 1954. In May 1972, diplomatic mission was increased to

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

ial level.

History

China-Dutch relations began prior to the founding of the People's Republic of China in the 17th and 18th century when Dutch traders of the

Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock co ...

(VOC) setup trading post in Canton and also in the western coast of

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northe ...

. PRC–Netherlands began in 1954. In the 1980s Taiwan ordered two submarines from a Dutch shipyard which were delivered despite tremendous Chinese pressure. China accused the Netherlands of colluding with American President Ronald Reagan and downgraded relations with the Netherlands and threatened to do the same to the US. In 1984 the Netherlands agreed not to export additional military goods in order to restore relations. Netherlands export to China includes petrochemicals, machinery, transport equipment, food, high technology and fossil fuels. China's export to the Netherlands includes computer and consumer electronics, toys and clothes. In March 2014, Chinese leader and CCP general secretary

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, ...

made the first state visit of China to the Netherlands in history.

Bilateral relations

Bilateral trade between the two countries have increased over the years. The Netherlands are China's third largest trade partner in the EU. The trade volume jumped last year has increased by 44.3 percent.1 Jul 2009
Background Information about the People's Republic of China
This is 4.6 billion euro in 2009. China exported $36.7 billion to the Netherlands in 2009. Dutch enterprises have invested US$7.48 billion into 824 projects in China. In July 2019, the UN ambassadors from 22 nations, including Netherlands, signed a joint letter to the

UNHRC The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...

condemning China's mistreatment of the

Uyghurs The Uyghurs; ; ; ; zh, s=, t=, p=Wéiwú'ěr, IPA: ( ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. The Uyghur ...

as well as its mistreatment of other minority groups, urging the Chinese government to close the

Xinjiang re-education camps The Xinjiang internment camps, officially called vocational education and training centers ( zh, 职业技能教育培训中心, Zhíyè jìnéng jiàoyù péixùn zhōngxīn) by the government of China, are internment camps operated by ...

. In February 2021, the

Dutch House of Representatives The House of Representatives (, pronounced ; commonly referred to as the ', literally "Second Chamber of the States General") is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of the Netherlands, the States General, the other one being the Sena ...

voted to recognize the Chinese government's treatment of its Uyghur Muslim minority as

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the L ...

, becoming the first country in the European Union to do so.

History

Bilateral relations

See also