Visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Wednesday that the Chinese National People's Congress (NPC) is willing to have more contacts with Belgium's parliament to deepen understanding and contribute to Sino-Belgian relations.

 

Wen made the remarks when meeting Belgian Senate President Armand De Decker and President of the Chamber of Representatives Herman Decroo, according to a press release from the Chinese delegation.

 

Relationship between parliaments is an important part of bilateral relations, the Chinese premier said.

 

Belgium's Parliament and China's NPC respectively play an important role in their countries, he said.

 

The fact that China and Belgium have different political system should not hinder mutually-beneficial cooperation based on equality, said Wen.

 

De Decker and Decroo told the Chinese premier that the Belgian parliament is willing to intensify its contacts and exchanges with the Chinese side to promote relationship between the two countries.

 

Wen arrived?in Brussels, the Belgian capital earlier in the day for a two-day official visit to Belgium and the headquarters of the European Union after winding up his three-day visit to Germany.

 

Belgium, becoming independent from the Netherlands in 1830 and was occupied by Germany during the two World Wars, has prospered in the past half century as a modern, technologically advanced European state and member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the EU, which are both headquartered in Brussels.

 

Belgium established diplomatic relations with China 33 years ago, and it is now the sixth major trading partner of China in Western Europe.

 

The trade value of the two countries increased to US$7 billion in 2003 from US$4.898 billion in 2002.

 

(Xinhua News Agency May 6, 2004)