People ride bicycles at a park in Brussels, Belgium, Nov. 7, 2023.(Photo: Xinhua)

Prime Minister of Belgium Alexander De Croo started his official visit to China which is from Thursday to Friday, marking the first visit to China by a Belgian prime minister since 2016. 

Experts expected the visit to inject more vitality to the already thriving bilateral cooperation while conveying a rational message for cooperation between China and the EU amid the current situation, as China-Belgium cooperation is a window for the cooperation between China and the EU. 

The official visit is a positive move following the 24th China-EU Summit concluded in Beijing in December 2023, demonstrating that China and the EU are willing to further enhance political mutual trust and deepen economic and trade exchanges, Yang Chengyu, an associate research fellow at the Institute of European Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday.

De Croo's visit also sends out a rational message that Belgium aims to continue advancing bilateral ties with China under the current complex environment, which plays a central role in the EU as the European Commission is headquartered in Brussels, Yang said. 

Belgium took over six-month presidency of the Council of the EU on January 1, 2024, the Xinhua News Agency reported. 

China-Belgium relationship has been progressing steadily with a long-established foundation in economic and trade exchanges, Zhao Junjie, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of European Studies, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng on Wednesday met with Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib on Wednesday, according to the website of Shanghai municipal government on Thursday. 

Gong said that Belgium has broad space for economic and trade cooperation with Shanghai, while welcoming more Belgian enterprises to expand businesses in Shanghai and encouraging companies from Shanghai to invest in Belgium. He also expressed hope to strengthen the people-to-people exchanges between the two sides and enhance the cooperation in the cultural industry. 

Observers said that the two sides have established a solid foundation in various fields since an early start, while the potential for cooperation under more industries can be unleashed. 

Yang said that the cooperation in industries including machinery, agriculture, finance, and technology has been established. 

In terms of trade, Zhao said that Chinese products such as electrical products and textile products are popular in Belgium, while advanced technology products and healthcare goods from Belgium are also welcomed by Chinese consumers. 

As for the future cooperation, both Yang and Zhao noted the cooperation potential in key sectors such as new energy, digital economy, and healthcare can be further strengthened. 

The bilateral cooperation has also been thriving under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). 

In 2022, the transport volume of containers between China and the Port of Antwerp-Bruges-a major port for Chinese businesses operating in Belgium under the BRI-exceeded 1.7 million standard containers, the Xinhua News Agency reported.