BEIJING, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Cooperation between China and Belgium under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has progressed steadily, and will produce more results, said Cao Zhongming, Chinese ambassador to Belgium, in an interview with Beijing Daily.
The two countries has opened freight train routes between Daqing and Zeebrugge, Tangshan and Antwerp, and Zhengzhou and Liege, and marine cargo ships have sailed back and forth between China and Belgium since COSCO Shipping Aries, one of the largest container ships of China COSCO Shipping Group, made its maiden voyage to the port of Antwerp, Belgium in February last year.
China and Belgium have further deepened their cooperation in port. Zeebrugge port, the second largest port of Belgium and the sixth largest port in Europe, will join hands with Chinese enterprises to build free trade parks, aiming to boost trade with China, according to the ambassador.
E-commerce cooperation between the two countries has enormous potential, Cao told Beijing Daily. Chinese multinational conglomerate Alibaba has signed a cooperation agreement with the government of Belgium to jointly establish an e-commerce hub in Liege, Belgium. This will help strengthen China-Beilgium interconnection and continue to propel bilateral economic and trade collaboration.
Speaking of cooperation in the future, Cao said that governments and enterprises of the two countries should work closer in key areas such as industrial technology, transportation and logistics, and green economy, thus inject new impetus into China-Belgium cooperation under BRI.
China is Belgium's tenth largest export destination and the seventh largest source of imports. (Edited by Su Dan)
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