Dutch State Visit to China: Beijing

At the invitation of the Chinese President Xi Jinping, His Majesty King Willem-Alexander and Her Majesty Queen Maxima started a five-day State Visit to China.

On Sunday October 25, the Royal Couple began their State Visit in Beijing, visiting the Shi-Jia Primary School where they were informed about the introduction of the football training in the curriculum of the primary and secondary school which will be based on the Dutch training techniques. The King and Queen attended a soccer training session in the presence of Edwin van der Sar, a former Dutch goalkeeper that now is Marketing Director of the Ajax Football Club.

Later the Royal Couple went to the Sino-Dutch Dairy Development Centre (SDDDC). This Centre was established in 2013 in collaboration between the China Agricultural University, The Netherlands Wageningen University and Dutch dairy company FrieslandCampina and aims to improve the quality of milk and diary production in China.
The first day ended with a meeting at the presence of the King, Queen and Chinese and Dutch entrepreneurs, scientists, business leaders and CEOs.

Yesterday Monday October 26, King Willem-Alexander started the second day of the state visit alone: Queen Maxima was forced to stay at the hotel due to a kidney infection but, luckily she was able to attend the state banquet in the evening.

In the morning the King paid a visit to the Dashilar downtown district where he made a stroll through the “hutong”, a typical alley of the northern Chinese cities. The King also visited the Dutch pavillion at the Beijing Design Week. The pavillion called “Next City Living Lab: The Nurturing House” shows innovative and sustainable solutions for the urbanizations.

Afterwards King Willem-Alexander had meetings with Yu Zhengsheng, chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and the Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. The King also attended a roundtable meeting at the Bank of Beijing along with Dutch and Chinese businessmen.

In the afternoon took place the official welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People where the King were greeted by the Chinese President Xi Jinging. After the inspection of the guards and the playing of the national anthems, the King and the President had a meeting.

The second day ended with a state banquet. In his speech King Willem-Alexander said that The Netherlands appreciates the constructive dialogue with China and he also stressed the importance of working together. The King also praised China for its impressive growth.

Filed under The Netherlands
Tagged Bilateral Relations, Children, China, Education, King Willem-Alexander of The Netherlands, President Xi of China, Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, Sport, State Visit.