entity

Netherlands

Entities (5)

China

China

China and the Netherlands are linked through significant bilateral trade and investment relationships, including the Netherlands' status as a major investor in China [1] and a recipient of Chinese inward investment {fact:4, fact:5}. Furthermore, their economic ties are evidenced by trends in export shares [2] and import dependencies {fact:2, fact:3, fact:7, fact:8} between the two nations. — 8 supporting facts

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France

France

France and the Netherlands are linked through their shared economic ties to China as major European investors [1] and their common experience of declining import shares from China [2]. Furthermore, both nations have aligned their foreign policies by adopting Indo-Pacific strategies [3] and maintaining consistent support for European strategic autonomy [4], [5]. — 5 supporting facts

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European Union

European Union

The Netherlands is a member state of the European Union, as evidenced by its inclusion in lists of member states regarding strategic autonomy [1], [2], and [3]. Furthermore, the Netherlands has actively contributed to European Union policy development, such as adopting an Indo-Pacific strategy [4] and co-authoring a non-paper on 'open' strategic autonomy [5]. — 5 supporting facts

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Nate

Nate

Nate is a common nickname for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which is the central pillar of the security policy held by the Netherlands as described in [1], [2], [3], and [4]. — 4 supporting facts

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United States

United States

The United States and the Netherlands share a significant economic and defense relationship, as evidenced by the Netherlands sourcing 97% of its arms imports from the U.S. [1] and maintaining a high volume of U.S. goods imports [2]. Furthermore, the Netherlands is one of the few European nations that continues to rely on the United States as a primary source of imports rather than China [3], and it is noted as a top importer of U.S. goods in regional reports [4]. — 4 supporting facts

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Facts (30)

Sources

Quest for Strategic Autonomy? Europe Grapples with the US - China ... realinstitutoelcano.org Real Instituto Elcano Jun 26, 2025 17 facts

claimLithuania, Spain, the Netherlands, and Italy have adopted national dual-use control lists that extend beyond the scope of the European Union Dual-Use Regulation.

measurementOnly six countries—Slovakia, Ireland, the UK, the Netherlands, Estonia, and Italy—registered an increase in the share of their exports to China between 2018 and 2023.

claimSupport for European strategic autonomy remains strong and consistent in Southern and Western Europe, specifically in Austria, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain.

claimFrance (2018, updated 2020), Germany (2020), the Netherlands (2020), the European Union (2021), Czechia (2022), Lithuania (2023), and Sweden (2024) have adopted Indo-Pacific strategies.

claimThe concept of 'open' strategic autonomy in EU policy builds on a prior joint non-paper with the Netherlands and reflects a commitment to multilateralism, international cooperation, and proportionality.

measurementThe largest importers of US goods in absolute terms are Germany (USD 100.96 billion), the United Kingdom (USD 94.93 billion), and the Netherlands (USD 68.99 billion).

measurementAs of 2020, the Netherlands, the UK, and Germany accounted for the highest amounts of Chinese inward investment in absolute terms, with approximately USD 58 billion, USD 32 billion, and USD 18 billion respectively.

claimChina ranks ahead of the United States as a source of goods imports for most European countries, with the exceptions of Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Lithuania.

measurementAmong countries surveyed in the Real Instituto Elcano report, Hungary has the highest share of Chinese inward investment at 5%, followed by Greece at 4.2% and the Netherlands at 2.1%.

measurementFrance, Denmark, and the Netherlands experienced a decline in the share of imports from China.

measurementThe Netherlands sourced 97% of its arms imports from the United States between 2020 and 2024, compared to 76% in the previous five-year period.

referenceSpain and the Netherlands published a non-paper titled 'Spain-Netherlands Non-Paper on Strategic Autonomy While Preserving an Open Economy' on 25 March 2021.

claimIn Denmark and the Netherlands, the absolute value of imports from China grew, albeit at the slowest pace among the countries surveyed.

measurementThe Netherlands and France are the two largest European investors in China, with total stocks of approximately USD 65 billion and USD 46.9 billion, respectively.

measurementAmong countries surveyed in the report, Ireland maintained the highest share of imports from the United States at 15.6%, followed by the United Kingdom at 12.5% and the Netherlands at 10.4%.

claimAustria, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain have maintained their support for European strategic autonomy since the 2020 ETNC report.

measurementDenmark's share of imports from China declined by 14%, and the Netherlands' share declined by 6%.

Independence play: Europe's pursuit of strategic autonomy ecfr.eu European Council on Foreign Relations Jul 18, 2019 13 facts

claimDutch officials believe European strategic autonomy initiatives should focus on Europe's neighbourhood and potentially sub-Saharan Africa, while reserving territorial defence as a task for NATO.

claimThe Netherlands and Sweden are the only two European Union member states that question the need to increase European Union investment in intelligence.

claimThe Netherlands considers non-military areas, such as the economy and energy, to be elements of European strategic autonomy.

claimThe Netherlands delegates nuclear deterrence to NATO and views European strategic autonomy as useful only for post-conflict stabilisation and crisis management in Europe’s neighbourhood.

claimDenmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom are the six European Union member states where diplomats and defence experts regard European strategic autonomy as a contentious issue.

perspectiveThe Netherlands maintains that NATO should remain the cornerstone of Dutch and European security, and that the pursuit of European strategic autonomy must not weaken NATO or delink European security from American security.

claimThe Netherlands identifies strategic transport, medical evacuation capacity, and improvements to military training as necessary components to achieve European strategic autonomy.

claimThe Netherlands views European strategic autonomy initiatives as opportunities to assist NATO in areas where the alliance has fewer capabilities or less experience, such as counter-terrorism and civilian border patrol.

measurementEleven European Union member states, including Denmark, Poland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, view European strategic autonomy (ESA) as an unimportant or contested goal.

claimThe Netherlands supports European defence industry cooperation, provided it allows for collaboration with non-EU countries and maintains a level playing field in the sector.

claimThe Netherlands views European strategic autonomy as a contested idea that lacks clarity, prompting the country to discuss the term's meaning at an informal meeting of the EU’s Council of Ministers in Bucharest in January 2019.

claimThe Netherlands adopts a pragmatic, capability-related approach to European strategic autonomy, prioritizing autonomy of action over decision-making and information autonomy.

claimThe Netherlands views European strategic autonomy (ESA) as a contested goal due to the ambiguity of the concept and concerns among some Dutch experts and policymakers that it could lead to the creation of a European army.