BRUSSELS -- Belgian employers on Wednesday welcomed an agreement to avoid double taxation with China, which was approved by the House of Representatives of the Kingdom last Thursday.

The entry into force of the bill since January 1, 2014 "will help intensify economic relations" between the two countries and "can only help us out of the crisis," said the Federation of Belgian Enterprises in a statement.

Belgium and China had indeed signed in 2009 an agreement for the avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion in the field of taxes on income. It aims to provide a better climate for Belgian investors in China, while making Belgium more attractive for Chinese investors.

Economic relations with China are intense, said the FEB, noting Belgium has more than 250 investors in China and China has 230 ones in Belgium.

Belgium ranks sixth in the European Union for the number of investors in China.

In terms of trade volume, Belgium is the sixth largest trading partner of China, the seventh largest export destination and the fifth largest source of imports of the latter, within the EU, although its size is as small as 2.5 times the city of Beijing.

For a long time, the institutional complexity of the small kingdom was complicating the entry into force of an agreement, complained the FEB, adding this is rather new that the ratification by the federal government is enough.

The FEB hoped that in the future, "the conventions on prevention of double taxation would be ratified within a reasonable period of less than two years after signature. This implies an enhanced and efficient collaboration between different stakeholders in this country."