Dutch mayor hails friendly ties with China

ROOSENDAAL, the Netherlands, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The mayor of Roosendaal, a city in southern Netherlands, has expressed his best wishes for a long-lasting friendship between his country and China.

"As a mayor of the Netherlands, I value the relationship between China and the Netherlands highly, and our mutual interest is in each other, not just in the business, but also on the political and administration fronts," mayor Han van Midden told Xinhua at an event held on Tuesday night to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the Netherlands.

"So we'd like to continue this valuable friendship for at least the next 50 years with a lot of peace and prosperity," said the mayor.

Turning to the role of Roosendaal in the overall Dutch-Chinese relations, Van Midden noted that several Chinese companies are currently active in the Rossendaal area, and due to the two countries' mutually beneficial business relations, he is expecting more Chinese businesses to settle in Roosendaal, and more Roosendaal businesses to settle in China as well.

The mayor also shared his impression about the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, saying he was overjoyed by following the games because a 20-year-old Roosendaal resident, who was one of the Olympian snowboarders, went as far as to the finals.

He also expressed admiration for the good organization of the games, citing, in particular, the Big Air Shougang venue, which was repurposed from a steel mill.

Chinese Ambassador to the Netherlands Tan Jian, other Dutch officials and entrepreneurs also took the opportunity of the event to take stock of bilateral relations over the past five decades.