THE HAGUE - China's economic development benefits not only itself and Sino-Dutch relations, but also the international society as a whole, said Frans-Paul van der Putten, a senior research fellow of the Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael.

"I think the economic dimension of the bilateral relationship is the most important element, and the economic dimension has developed very quickly because of China's rapid economic development," van der Putten told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and the Netherlands on the ambassadors' level.

"If you look at the bilateral relations between the two countries, actually you can see the development is very constant because the main aspect is the economic dimension and bilateral trade has been very important," van der Putten said.

According to the latest statistics, bilateral economic trade between China and the Netherlands reached a new record of $68.15 billion in 2011 which saw a year-on-year rise of 21.3 percent. The Netherlands has been China's second-biggest trade partner in the EU for nine consecutive years.

"So for the future, I would expect that there will be a lot of continuity. The economic side will be very important," he said.

Meanwhile, there are also new drivers to the relation between the two countries for the future.

"We already have strong bilateral trade and a lot of Dutch investment in China, and in the next few years, there will also be a lot of Chinese investment in the Netherlands. The relationship will be more balanced in that sense," Van der Putten said.

He added that "perhaps the main new element in the relationship is that I think China's investment in the Netherlands is going to grow."

From his point of view, the Netherlands plays a unique role in economic cooperation with China, in a sense that the whole Europe can share the same bright future.

"China and the European Union are natural economic partners... The Netherlands would like to regard itself as the gateway to Europe. I think this is true and the Netherlands will remain an important element in European-Chinese economic relations in the future," he said.

From the global perspective, "the rising of China has a very important impact on international relations," Van der Putten pointed out, "China has to adapt to the international system but the rest of the world also has to adapt to China."