Illustration: Liu Xiangya/GT

Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Sjoerd Sjoerdsma is currently in China for a three-day visit. The visit, in which Sjoerdsma is accompanied by representatives from 17 Dutch companies from sectors including logistics, agriculture and hi-tech, is considered "high-stake" by observers.

The reason is that this is the first visit by a Dutch trade minister to China since 2018 and the visit concerned Nexperia and ASML, two major Netherlands-based semiconductor companies deeply impacted by geopolitical tensions and trade restrictions involving China.

In October 2025, the Dutch government seized control of the Chinese-owned, Netherlands-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia using a Cold War-era law over national security concerns. The root cause of the Nexperia issue, according to China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, is the improper administrative intervention of the Dutch side in the operations of businesses. On Tuesday, the visiting Dutch minister was quoted by the media as saying that the two sides were cooperating "extremely well" to resolve the dispute.

The visit also comes at a time when ASML, the Dutch chipmaking equipment giant, is under mounting pressure from Washington over exports to China. US lawmakers are reviewing the proposed MATCH Act, which would further restrict China's access to advanced chip production tools, including ASML's deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography systems.

In late June, Sjoerdsma visited Washington to lobby US lawmakers against the MATCH Act and protested the bill's extraterritorial overreach. "We're doing that because those concerns are significant and because the stakes for the Netherlands may be very high," Sjoerdsma said in an interview with Bloomberg after his meetings with US politicians.

Dong Yifan, an associate research fellow at the Academy of International and Regional Studies, Beijing Language and Culture University, told the Global Times on Wednesday that Sjoerdsma's visit carries clear intentions of crisis management and risk prevention. 

"The Dutch side hopes to maintain continued engagement with China through high-level consultations, so as to avoid friction or confrontation arising from insufficient communication," said Dong, adding that the Netherlands is weighing its economic interests amid a complex geopolitical environment.

Countries like the Netherlands often find themselves at a difficult crossroads with economic interests on one direction and political pressure from US hegemony on the other. Over the past few years, against the backdrop of the US' relentless push for "decoupling" and "industrial chain restructuring," several European countries have adjusted their China policies in tandem with Washington - with the Netherlands being a typical example. The Netherlands' current efforts to try to find a balance indicate that the US containment policy toward China has reached its limits and that this European country has realized that following the US does not generate the geopolitical or economic interests it has desired.

In the context of a US-China relationship defined by both intense competition and deliberate efforts to avoid strategic confrontation, it is imperative for the Netherlands to maintain a measured and calibrated stance so as to reduce the risk of becoming entangled in geopolitical rivalries that may inflict economic damage at the national level.

China's stance is clear: "We welcome closer dialogue and communication and deeper cooperation between the commerce departments of the two countries on the basis of mutual respect," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in response to Sjoerdsma's visit at a regular press conference on Monday. 

China is sending a strategic goodwill to the Netherlands. It remains committed to deepening pragmatic cooperation with the Netherlands, viewing the country as a vital trade partner and a key gateway for economic engagement with Europe. Meanwhile, it firmly opposes unilateral moves that jeopardize their cooperation and any external interference, resolutely upholding its own interests concerning sovereignty, security, and development. 

Dong said that in recent years, compared with other European countries such as Germany and Spain, the Netherlands has played a relatively limited role in China-Europe relations. Deeper communication between China and the Netherlands across multiple domains would serve to reinforce a key platform for China-Europe engagement on pivotal issues through direct dialogue with individual member states.

Europe is grappling with sluggish economic growth, industrial headwinds, energy price volatility, and fiercer competition in global export markets. These challenges weigh especially heavily on the Netherlands, given its profound reliance on external trade. As the country that hosts Europe's foremost port and serves as a pivotal trading hub, the Netherlands is acutely aware of what access to the Chinese market entails. China remains open to any country that truly wishes to engage in cooperation for shared benefits. As for the Netherlands, the appropriate course of action is to match this goodwill with tangible steps.