On 23 March, a day before the 3rd Nuclear Security Summit, the Netherlands and China re-affirmed their cooperation in the Energy sector, including research.

The Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs, Henk Kamp, and Chairman of the Chinese National Energy Administration, Wu Xinxiong, in the presence of Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Chinese president  Xi Jinping, signed an extended version of the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The original document  was signed by both countries in 2009 with the aim of exchanging knowledge and looking at mutual investment in renewables such as solar, bio-mass, and wind energy.

The MoU is an initiative by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and is being developed further by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency. Several activities have taken place since 2009 in both countries including seminars, meetings, trade missions and several sector specific research studies.

Both countries are expected to benefit from this close cooperation. Dutch industry is looking to increase its share of this sector in the Chinese market. Several Dutch companies and research institutions are already involved, and have successfully entered the Chinese market.

At the same time China can benefit from the Netherlands as an export market for existing Chinese products and knowledge in the area of renewable energy, and the availability of an innovative, high technological knowledge platform in this area which can be used to reach the ambitious renewable target which has been set by the Chinese government.

Progress has also been made specifically in the area of offshore wind energy. During the meeting both countries signed an Offshore Wind Work Plan, aiming at exchanging ideas in specific areas such as cost reduction, quality improvement, real life experience, and  enhancing market opportunities.