China, the Netherlands sign deals worth 10 bln USD

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Europe

China and the Netherlands have signed deals worth about 10 billion US dollars in the fields of energy, finance, aviation and others during Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s visit to Netherlands, according to the State Council of China.

Dutch battery maker Lithium Werks BV, a startup founded earlier this year, has decided to invest 1.6 billion euros (about 1.85 billion US dollars) to build a massive lithium-ion cell plant and R&D base in China.

The plant will go into production in 2021 with an annual capacity of eight gigawatt-hours, powering about 160,000 cars, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

"We're in China again because it moves faster than others, it makes decisions quickly," said Kees Koolen, the founder of Lithium Werks BV.

Meanwhile, the International Netherlands Groups (ING) and the Bank of Beijing (BOB) signed a cooperation agreement to establish a joint-venture bank in China with three billion yuan (about 433 million US dollars).

Royal Dutch Shell, the global leading oil and gas company and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) came to an agreement to build a project in three phases in China with a total investment of about billions of US dollars.

Actually, the company has already formed a partnership with all national oil companies in China and enjoyed good performance. "With China's open policy, we have rapid development," said the President of Shell.

Royal Dutch Airlines and Xiamen Airlines also signed a memorandum of understanding to upgrade cooperative projects worth 2.8 billion yuan.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. /State Council Photo

As for Dutch entrepreneurs, it is China's huge consumption market and government's efforts to create a more open and optimized economic environment that attracted them.

China welcomes all business partners for broader and closer cooperation, Premier Li said at the China-Netherlands Business Forum on Tuesday, noting that China would take tougher measures to protect intellectual property rights (IPR) and create a favorable environment for innovation.

These agreements indicate that Dutch companies are willing to expand investment in fields that have advantages in China, and Chinese firms also look forward to increasing cooperation with Dutch companies, said Premier Li during his visit.