Interview: Hereditary prince of Liechtenstein hopes to deepen ties, cooperation with China

VADUZ, Liechtenstein, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein hopes his country can further boost bilateral ties and cooperation with China, the world's second largest economy.

The relationship between Liechtenstein and China has been strengthened, "particularly over the last 10, 15 years," Alois told Xinhua in a recent exclusive interview at Vaduz Castle, the palace and official residence of the Princely Family of Liechtenstein.

"We saw a strong development of our relationship after Liechtenstein participated in the world exhibition in Shanghai," he added.

The hereditary prince noted that Liechtenstein has a very broadly diversified, very export-oriented economy.

"We have companies in all different types of sectors of the manufacturing industry, but also in the service sector, particularly financial service sector," he said.

Liechtenstein, despite being the sixth smallest country in the world, is known as a key financial hub with one of the highest per capita incomes across the globe.

"I see the main boost in the future, as in the past, with our larger companies that are active in the international field, and for them certainly China is an interesting market," he said.

"On the service side, also with regard to a double taxation agreement, it could make sense that we try also to work for further improvements to further ease trade between our countries on a bilateral level," he added.

The hereditary prince said he is optimistic that tourism flows from China will increase again. "The pandemic situation is likely to make it still difficult over the next two, three years ... but I'm confident on the longer run that we will see a good pickup."

Alois noted that both Liechtenstein and China have "companies that offer products that can help with climate change."

"I think we can work on the cooperation on that side, offering each other those products," he said, adding, "We can also try to work together at the international level, particularly at the UN for having good initiatives with regard to climate change."

"As a very small and export-oriented country, Liechtenstein understands the importance of the international relationship, multilateralism," Alois said. "We will try to do our best in this regard."