The Netherlands has been invited to be Country of Honor of the Pujiang Innovation Forum 2022. On 27 August, on the sidelines of the Forum, Minister of Science and Technology Wang Zhigang met with Dutch Ambassador to China Wim Geerts, Consul General in Shanghai Marjo Crompvoets and representatives of Dutch multinational enterprises. 

　　Minister Wang Zhigang welcomed the Netherlands as the Country of Honor of the Pujiang Innovation Forum 2022 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the Netherlands, and thanked the Dutch side for its important contribution to the success of the Forum. Minister Wang noted that President Xi Jinping and King Willem-Alexander exchanged congratulatory messages to mark the anniversary, pointing the way forward for the growth of China-Netherlands relations, and that Premier Li Keqiang and Prime Minister Mark Rutte also sent congratulatory letters to the Forum. Minister Wang said that the Netherlands has always been an important partner for China in the fields of science, technology and innovation (STI), and applauded the result-oriented and efficient STI cooperation between the two countries in agriculture, health, environment, energy, chemistry and other fields. He suggested that the two sides further improve their cooperation mechanism, strengthen alignment of strategies and share ideas on policies, continue to promote practical cooperation in key areas, and jointly address global challenges such as climate change and COVID-19. 

　　Ambassador Wim Geerts thanked the Chinese side for inviting the Netherlands to be the Country of Honor of the Pujiang Innovation Forum 2022 and said that the congratulatory letter sent by Prime Minister Rutte shows the high importance the Netherlands attaches to STI cooperation with China. Ambassador Geerts applauded the fruitful results of the two countries have achieved in STI cooperation, endorsed Minister Wang’s proposal on cooperation mechanism, and stated the willingness to take the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations as an opportunity to bring bilateral STI cooperation to a higher level. 

　　During the meeting, the two sides also exchanged views on the opportunities for Dutch multinational enterprises in China. Li Meng, Vice Minister of MOST, He Defang, Deputy Secretary-General of MOST, Li Guihua, Director-General of the General Office of MOST, Dai Gang, Director-General of the Department of International Cooperation of MOST, Xu Jie, Deputy Director-General of the Department of International Cooperation of MOST, Liu Duo, Vice Mayor of Shanghai Municipal People’s Government, Zhang Quan, Director-General of the Shanghai Science and Technology Commission, and Huang Hong, Deputy Director-General of the Shanghai Science and Technology Commission, were present at the meeting. 

　　During the forum, the two sides also held activities such as the Sino-Dutch Joint Innovation in Water Technology Country of Honor Sub-Forum, the Energy Dialogue Seminar, and the Virtual Dutch Pavilion of InnoMatch EXPO to share knowledge, showcase STI achievements, and promote in-depth exchanges and discussions on topics of mutual interest, in order to lay a solid foundation for further cooperation between the two sides.