Peking University, March 27, 2024: Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte paid a visit to Peking University (PKU) on the morning of March 27, 2024, as part of a two-day working trip to China. He was accompanied by Dutch Ambassador to China André Haspels and Chinese Ambassador to the Netherlands Tan Jian.


During his stay, the prime minister held a dynamic dialogue with some 400 students at the Administration Building of Peking University, where he recounted his bond with China and took questions from the audience. 

Hao Ping 

PKU Council Chair Hao Ping, who hosted the event, extended his welcome to the prime minister and his delegation. Hao pointed out that as both a witness and a participant in Sino-Dutch relations, Peking University has stood as "a bridge to promote friendly exchanges between China and the Netherlands."

Gong Qihuang delivers a welcome speech

In his welcome speech, PKU President Gong Qihuang lauded the long-lasting academic and scientific cooperation between Peking University and Dutch higher education institutions, including Leiden University, the prime minister's alma mater. "With enhanced cooperation, we believe that the Sino-Dutch cooperation on education and scientific research will become more successful, making greater contributions to the two nations and the world as a whole," highlighted Gong.

Mark Rutte addresses students at Peking University

In an ensuing speech by Mark Rutte, which he himself described as "brief," so that he could spend more time talking with the students, the prime minister recapped his two-decade-long connection with China. 

"It's very special for me to be back here in Beijing … and at Peking University," Rutte said, recalling his previous trips that could be traced back to 2005 when he was a junior minister in the Dutch education ministry, "It feels also quite emotional to be back," he added, "because my last trip to China was in (July) 2019."  

The prime minister stressed that Dutch-Sino relations are "important," as the Netherlands is China's second-largest trading partner within the European Union while high-level discussions, in particular in-person talks, on varied issues between the two sides have been "fruitful."  

The Q&A session

The following Q&A session lit up the hall with thrill and keenness, as students from various schools and departments posed questions of their interests with the prime minister answering with patience and eloquence. Accompanied by ceaseless enthusiasm and applause, topics ranging from people-to-people exchanges and bilateral trade to the governance of AI and the prospects of electric vehicles (EVs) were discussed in the half-hour segment, which also touched upon carbon neutrality, world peace, and the lessons of history. 

Dutch universities house about "5,600" Chinese students, said the prime minister, when asked about academic and exchange opportunities in the Netherlands, adding that he looked forward to seeing more Chinese students study at Dutch universities and vice versa. "China for us is a priority country, and we want you to keep coming to (the Netherlands)," he added. 

When addressing the relevance of history and its impact on his political career, the prime minister, who studied history at college, told the audience that the hard lesson he had learned from studying history was that "history is not always repeating itself," the fact that the future is at times unpredictable. Then the prime minister, smiling, asked back, "Are you studying history yourself?" "Actually, I'm from the School of Economics," the student replied. "Why didn't you study history?" quipped the prime minister.    

The prime minister snaps selfies with students and School leaders (photo: courtesy of Mark Rutte)

For every student present at the event, a chance to hear from and interact with the Dutch prime minister was cherishable enough, not to mention that the prime minister, wrapping up the dialogue, took out his cellphone to snap a selfie with the students and School leaders, capturing the culmination of the prime minister's exchange tour at Peking University. 

Shortly afterward, Mark Rutte sat down with Dutch student representatives to learn about their life and study in China. 

Mark Rutte meets Dutch students

The Dutch-Sino academic relationship "is pretty good at this point," Sanne Dingemans, a Dutch exchange student at Beijing International Studies University, told PKU News. It was an "iconic" moment to "meet my prime minister," recalled De Groot Daan, a Dutch student at PKU's Guanghua School of Management, who seconded the prime minister's view that Dutch-Sino trade and relations will have an ever more robust outlook.


Reported by: Dennis Meng, Zheng Simo
Written by: Dennis Meng
Photos by: Courtesy of Mark Rutte; Wang Tiantian, Li Xianghua, Liu Yueling, Huang Zhe, Ye Renhao