Dutch see expanding opportunities in China

China's push to upgrade its industrial structure and improve an open market - ensuring free and inclusive global trade and sharing the benefits with other countries - will attract more investment from the Netherlands in the long run, said experts and industry insiders.

"Healthcare products, new materials, high-end equipment and science and technology services will be the top areas for businesses from the Netherlands to invest in China in the next stage, as China experiences a diversification of its innovative economic structure and an acceleration of industrial upgrading," said Sun Fuquan, a researcher at the Beijing-based Chinese Academy of Science and Technology for Development.

Roy Jakobs, executive vice-president of appliance giant Royal Philips, said China's consumption upgrade and the government's Healthy China 2030 plan will raise the country's demand for more healthcare products and solutions.

He said oral healthcare, sleep aids, male grooming products and even kitchen appliances will likely see a boom in sales, he said.

"We think technological innovation is paving the way for more personalized, affordable and accessible healthcare service," Jakobs said.

Attracted by China's market potential, the Amsterdam-based company established an artificial intelligence lab in Shanghai in 2018 to drive the deep integration of AI into a wide spectrum of areas in the healthcare industry.

Another Dutch company on the fast move in China is oil giant Royal Dutch Shell, which expects to expand its presence in petrochemical sectors.

The group aims to increase the capacity of natural gas in the Changbei project in Shaanxi province to better support the country's growing needs, in partnership with China National Petroleum Corp.

The annual gas production from the project is equal to 20 percent of Beijing's gas demand.

Ben van Beurden, the group's CEO, said China is its largest customer when it comes to natural gas. The company will continue its strong focus on investing in the country's petrochemical production.

China's financial sector has also made a landmark move as Bank of Beijing agreed to set up a joint venture with ING Bank NV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dutch multinational banking and financial services provider ING Group in late March, with the latter as the controlling shareholder.

If approved by the nation's bank and insurance regulator, the joint venture will become the first bank in China with a foreign major shareholder.