Belgium sees ties with China important: Deputy PM

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-10-24 11:18

BRUSSELS -- Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Jo Vandeurzen said here Thursday that the Belgian government attaches great importance to developing closer ties with China.

Speaking at a meeting with He Ping, editor-in-chief of China's official Xinhua News Agency, Vandeurzen said that Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme has flown to Beijing again on Wednesday for the Asia-Europe Meeting which opens on Friday. He was in Beijing in August to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.

Vandeurzen also congratulated China on its successful hosting of the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games, saying "the Beijing Olympic Games are the best ever."

During their talks, He and Vandeurzen mainly discussed bilateral relations and ways to promote cooperation between Xinhua and Belgian news services.

He said that over the past few years, Sino-Belgian relations have kept a strong momentum of development, while Xinhua has also developed closer connections with the Belgian news services.

"One of my main goals during this visit is to promote such friendly cooperation between Xinhua and Belgian news services," said He.

He also briefly introduced Xinhua to Vandeurzen, saying Xinhua news has become one of the best ways to comprehensively learn about China.

Both sides also exchanged views on the current financial crisis in America and Europe.

Vandeurzen said that to tackle the crisis is now the country's top priority, and the government is taking all possible actions to cope with it.

He said Belgium supports efforts to tackle the problem on the European level, but sometimes the European actions were not as quick as those taken by Belgium.

According to Vandeurzen, the Belgian government has already taken a series of measures, including partially nationalizing hard-hit banks, and the financial situation in the country has become more stable.

However, he said "the crisis is not over yet" and the government is considering whether to table a new package of plans to defuse it.

The government is also asking financial institutions to evaluate the impact of the crisis on the real economy, Vandeurzen said.