China says it will work with Netherlands to maintain stable global supply chain

HONG KONG (Reuters) - China's Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang said at a meeting with Dutch King Willem-Alexander in The Hague that China stands ready to increase mutual trust and that it would work together to maintain stability and smoothness of the global supply chain.

The meeting was reported by China's foreign ministry on Thursday. It comes days after the Dutch government said it would expand export controls on advanced semiconductor equipment from April 1.

Dutch national export licence requirements for semiconductor equipment were first introduced in 2023 under pressure from the United States to limit shipments to China, and they have been expanded several times.

Ding said that despite the changing international situation, the relations between the Netherlands and China have always maintained a good momentum.

"China is ready to work with the Netherlands to enhance understanding and mutual trust, strengthen exchanges and cooperation in various fields, and promote the continuous development of the open and pragmatic comprehensive cooperative partnership," Ding said.

China and the Netherlands have their own advantages in different parts of the global production and supply chain and there is "great potential for strengthening cooperation, which is in the interests of both sides and conducive to world peace, stability, development and progress," he said.

Ding said China stands ready to work with the Netherlands to jointly "maintain the stability and smoothness of the global production and supply chain."

Computer chip equipment maker ASML has said it did not expect the Dutch government's expansion of export controls to impact its business.

(Reporting by Farah Master, Liz Lee and the Beijing newsroom; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Tomasz Janowski)