Pedestrians walk past a Bank of China sign at its branch in Beijing March 26, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

UTRECHT, THE NETHERLANDS - The Dutch government gave an award to the Rotterdam branch of Bank of China on Wednesday for its contributions to promote trade and economic cooperation between China and the Netherlands.

Jeroen Nijland, Commissioner with the Dutch National Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA), gave the "Foreign Direct Investment Ambassador" award to Zhao Caiyan, head of Rotterdam branch, Bank of China, at the 7th Sino-Dutch Economic Seminar.

The annual seminar was organized by the Association of Chinese Investment Enterprises in the Netherlands (ACIEN) and the NFIA. It attracted more than 100 business elites and politicians including the former Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende.

According to the latest statistics, the volume of bilateral trade between China and the Netherlands hit $60.6 billion in the first ten months, registering a year-on-year increase of 8.2 percent.