The first China-Europe freight train bound for Tilburg from Nanjing, capital city of east China's Jiangsu Province, arrives in Tilburg, the Netherlands, June 4, 2021. [Xinhua/Zheng Huansong]

BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Xi Jinping and Dutch King Willem-Alexander on Wednesday exchanged congratulatory messages on the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

In his message, Xi pointed out that since China and the Netherlands forged diplomatic ties, their relations have been growing with all-around cooperation yielding fruitful results.

Xi said in 2014, the two heads of state upgraded relations between the two countries to an open and pragmatic partnership for comprehensive cooperation, and the role of the Netherlands as a "gateway" in China-EU cooperation has become more prominent.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, China and the Netherlands have supported each other, demonstrating the profound friendship between the people of the two countries, he added.

Noting that he attaches great importance to the development of bilateral relations, Xi said he stands ready to work with King Willem-Alexander to promote the sustainable, healthy and stable development of bilateral ties for the benefit of the two countries and their people.

Photo taken on April 14, 2022 shows a view of China's pavilion at Floriade Expo 2022 in Almere, the Netherlands. [Xinhua/Zhang Cheng]

Willem-Alexander said that over the past 50 years, bilateral relations have developed vigorously with active exchanges in economy and trade, as well as in people-to-people and cultural and other fields.

He said he believed that with joint efforts of both sides, the outstanding and fruitful relations between the Netherlands and China will be further consolidated and developed.

On the same day, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte exchanged congratulatory messages.

Li said the Chinese side is willing to take the opportunity of celebrating the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties to further strengthen exchanges in various fields, expand mutually beneficial cooperation and constantly lift bilateral relations to a new level.

Rutte said that bilateral relations have made great progress since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the Netherlands and China, adding he hoped that the two sides can deepen cooperation, jointly promote economic recovery and tackle climate change.

(Source: Xinhua)