Huub Buise, Consul General of the Netherlands in Chongqing Municipality Photo: Courtesy of the Consulate General of the Netherlands in Chongqing

The Sino-Dutch sports exchanges and reception for the Dutch delegation to the Chengdu World University Games was successfully held on July 29 to celebrate the Sino-Dutch sports relations.

The event, hosted by the Consulate General of the Netherlands in Chongqing, greeted all the student athletes from the Student Sport Netherlands attending the Games. 

The guests of honor included Rob Cuppen, head of the Dutch delegation to the Chengdu World University Games, Wim Koch, deputy head of the Dutch delegation and more than 60 participants in 11 sports.

Huub Buise, Consul General of the Netherlands in Chongqing, delivered a speech at the event. Buise said that, "After working together for the last three years, we are finally witnessing the opening of the Chengdu Universiade and the competitions being held as scheduled. Everyone has put in a lot of effort in this process, including our head of delegation, official representatives, and all of you here, all working together. I am very happy to be here with all of you and wish you all the best in the competition."

Silke Jonkman, the student athlete representative from the Dutch delegation touched on the feelings and experiences of participating in the Games and expressed the delegation's expectations for Sino-Dutch sports exchanges and friendship. She said that, "I am very grateful for the welcome reception prepared for us. At the same time, we are very happy to be here in China, in Chengdu, where we ate a lot of food, saw pandas, attended the grand opening ceremony, and were deeply impressed by the friendliness, warmth, and helpfulness of the Chinese people."

Buise also stressed that Chengdu is the engine of the entire western economy in China and the world has seen its internationalization. He expressed special thanks to liaisons at the Chengdu Foreign Affairs Office for building a bridge of friendship between China and the Netherlands.