Dutch PM Rutte To Meet Xi Jinping In Beijing Next Week

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte will travel to China next week to discuss trade and business and hold a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang on Wednesday.

• According to a statement from the Dutch government, "discussions will include bilateral and economic relations, the war in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East."
• The statement notes that Trade Minister Geoffrey van Leeuwen will meet with his Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao on Wednesday to discuss, "economic cooperation opportunities, the importance of a level playing field and the importance of equal market access."
• The trip comes as business leaders gather in Beijing for the China Development Forum which gets underway on Sunday. Semafor notes: "U.S. executives will reportedly make up the largest global delegation at the annual China Development Forum... after many skipped last year’s gathering following the Chinese spy balloon saga.”
• Rutte's trip is of particular note to markets as, along with the US and Japan, the Netherlands is the one of the three countries most critical to a US-led drive to restrict China's access to leading-edge chips. To what extent the Netherlands should curb Dutch company ASML's operations in China is a major political issue domestically and one which Beijing may hope to steer away from Washington as the negotiations continue on forming a new Dutch government.