King of Belgium: links with China forge future

"The links with China forge the future," King of Belgium Philip Leopold Louis Marius said in his public TV speech Monday on the eve of the National Day of Belgium.

It is "essential" to create strong and sincere real links among people, he stressed.

"I saw it again during our state visit in China. With the federal, regional authorities and hundreds of businessmen and university rectors, we primarily sought maintain a confidence space in the interest of both countries," he said.

At the end of his speech shown on all Belgian TV channels, French or Dutch, the King appeared in the company of Chinese President Xi Jinping, a journalist from Xinhua noted.

In his speech, Philip invites his fellow citizens to "reflect on the quality of the links that unite us."

"These links are valuable. They are also constantly tested. We live in an interconnected world, hyper-connected," said the Belgian King, who is attentive to the importance of social links, either between individuals, communities or countries.

He called to deepen links between countries and peoples on the basis of renewed confidence.

"When the European project pass through a difficult period, as in the case today, let's avoid that our countries rise up against each others," he said. Endit