THE HAGUE - China's top political advisor Jia Qinglin on Friday said China and the Netherlands should deepen cooperation in order to boost common prosperity.

Speaking at a luncheon attended by over 250 Chinese and Dutch entrepreneurs, Jia said although China and the Netherlands sit far apart from each other geographically, friendship has taken deep roots in the heart of people from both countries.

Jia, chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, noted that the two sides have maintained sound political ties, and carried out fruitful cooperation in areas ranging from economy and trade, to science and technology as well as cultural and people-to-people exchanges, since the two countries established diplomatic ties 39 years ago.

According to Jia, the Netherlands has been China's second biggest trading partner in the European Union for eight consecutive years. Bilateral trade between the two countries reached a record high of $56.2 billion in 2010, while investment from the Netherlands in China has so far amounted to $12 billion.

Further enhancing economic and trade cooperation between China and the Netherlands is conducive to both countries' own development, as well as to the stabilization and revival of the world economy, Jia said.

He called on the countries to deepen cooperation in the modern agricultural sector, promote trade facilitation and expand bilateral trade volume, improve respective investment environment and encourage two-way investments, and expand cooperation on energy conservation and environmental protection and work together to tackle climate change.

Noting that next year marks the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and the Netherlands, Jia called on both sides to take it as an opportunity to join hands to boost bilateral economic and trade cooperation so as to bring more benefits to the two peoples.

The Netherlands is the second stop after Greece of Jia's three-nation European tour, which will also take him to Germany.