BRUSSELS, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Belgian Foreign Minister Yves Leterme spoke highly here on Thursday of friendship and cooperation between Belgium and China.

    Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Europalia China art festival, he said that friendship and cooperation between China and Belgium are solid.

    "Everyone sees it and everyone feel it that China has never been so frequently present as today in our hearts and minds, in our economies, our tastes and our visions," he said. "This affects all areas like the many facets of Europalia China art festival."

    Belgium wants to have a better knowledge of China and to be better understood, he said.

    China's Vice Minister of Culture Zhao Shaohua said that Europalia China art festival has offered a broad platform for cultural dialogue between China and Belgium and between China and Europe.

    "We hope very much that our efforts will successfully lead to the maintaining of cultural diversity in the world and promote dialogue and interaction between different cultures," she told an audience of around 400.

    "By learning from each other, we come closer to each other rather than the opposite," she added.

    Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping attended the opening ceremony of the festival together with Belgian King Albert II and Queen Paola in Brussels' Palais des Beaux-Arts.

    After the ceremony, the leaders visited the exhibition "Son of Heaven," a landmark among the cultural activities in the coming months in Belgium.

    This grand festival displays until Feb. 14 various kinds of arts, such as photography, design, fashion, architecture and gastronomy.