High ranking Chinese official visits ING

His Excellency Mr Jia Qinglin visited ING House in the Netherlands on Friday, 28 October, where he met with Jan Hommen, CEO of ING Group. Mr Jia is the chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) since 2003, and the fourth highest ranking Chinese official. The visit underscores the importance of ING’s partnership with the Bank of Beijing (BoB).

The meeting took place in the presence of several other high ranking CPPCC National Committee members, a delegation of the Bank of Beijing, chaired by BoB chairman Yan, president of BoB, Mrs Yan, Chief Supervisor Shi of BoB, and Mr Rudolf Bekink, the Dutch ambassador in China.

Mr Jia’s visit to ING took place on the occasion of a trade mission of 100 Chinese companies to several European countries, including the Netherlands. In this respect, he met with Prime Minister Rutte, Vice Prime Minister Verhagen as well as with members of the Dutch Lower House en Senate in The Hague.

Mr Jia, who is responsible for agriculture, industry and sustainable energy, also visited the Peace Palace and several special Dutch sites, including the Port of Rotterdam, a cheese factory, a flower company, and the country’s capital, Amsterdam.

During his visit to ING, Mr Jia praised ING’s reputation in China and spoke of the need for Chinese financial institutions to learn from other countries in order to grow the financial sector. He said: “The whole financial sector in China has learned from ING and its expertise. ING’s training skills are a model for cooperation between China and the Netherlands. I hope ING will share its expertise with more Chinese financial institutions and professionals.”

A day earlier, an MOU was signed during a dinner hosted by the Dutch vice prime minister, Mr Maxime Verhagen, on 27 October. The MOU covers ING’s support to the BoB in its implementation of Basel III, and falls under an existing Technical Support Agreement between ING and BoB signed in September 2011.
ING has had a strategic partnership with the BoB since 2005. This was further intensified by the joint venture entered into in 2010 by Bank of Beijing and ING’s insurance company.

On the occasion of Mr Jia’s visit, Jan Hommen said: “We’re honoured with Mr Jia’s visit to our country and to ING in particular. We are proud that we can show the results of a fruitful relationship between the Bank of Beijing and ING – a great example of a successful Sino-Dutch cooperation.”