On the morning of January 12, 2024, Premier Li Qiang of the State Council held talks with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, who is on an official visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People.

Li Qiang said that since the establishment of the all-round friendly cooperative partnership between China and Belgium 10 years ago, bilateral relations have made steady progress, and cooperation in various fields has continued to expand, bringing tangible benefits to the two peoples. President Xi Jinping will meet with Mr. Prime Minister to have an in-depth exchange of views on further deepening bilateral relations and cooperation. China stands ready to work with Belgium to uphold the principles of mutual respect, mutual benefit, openness, and inclusiveness, deliver on the important common understandings of the leaders of the two countries, strengthen strategic communication, build political mutual trust, and tap into cooperation potential, so as to inject more impetus into the common development of the two countries.

Li Qiang pointed out that China and Belgium are important economic and trade partners. China is willing to consolidate and expand trade with Belgium, deepen logistics and port cooperation, and actively promote the development of cross-border e-commerce. China welcomes more Belgian enterprises to invest in China and supports more Chinese enterprises to invest in Belgium. Li Qiang expressed the hope that Belgium will uphold the principle of openness, follow market principles and provide a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises. Both sides should strengthen exchanges and cooperation in the field of scientific and technological innovation, give full play to their complementary advantages, deepen cooperation in such fields as environmental protection, modern agriculture, biomedicine, civil nuclear energy and artificial intelligence, and strengthen cultural, educational and youth exchanges. Li Qiang expressed his hope that Belgium will continue to make positive contributions to the sustained, sound and steady development of China-EU relations.

Alexander De Croo said Belgium and China are partners. The two countries have enjoyed vigorous economic and trade cooperation, conducted high-quality dialogue and consultation, and shared the same goals on climate change and other global issues. Belgium adheres to the one-China policy and is willing to strengthen cooperation with China in fields such as agriculture, food, nuclear energy, communications, science and technology, deepen people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and expand common interests, so as to take Belgium-China relations to a new level. As the rotating EU presidency, Belgium supports the further development of EU-China relations.

After the talks, Premier Li Qiang and Prime Minister Alexander De Croo jointly witnessed the signing of multiple bilateral cooperation documents on economy, trade, agriculture, food and agriculture.

Before the talks, Li Qiang held a welcoming ceremony for Alexander De Croo at the North Hall of the Great Hall of the People.