Hong Kong stocks close higher Thursday

Hong Kong's stock market ended higher Thursday with the benchmark Hang Seng Index up 1.33 percent to close at 25,008.60 points.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index rose 1.63 percent to end at 8,318.14 points, and the Hang Seng Tech Index rose 1.98 percent to end at 4,834.44 points.

China and the Netherlands have agreed to create a favorable environment for enterprises to resolve disputes through consultation and safeguard the security and stability of global semiconductor supply and industrial chains, China's Ministry of Commerce said Thursday.

He Yadong, a spokesperson for the ministry, made the remarks at a regular press briefing in response to a question on progress in resolving issues related to Nexperia, a Dutch-headquartered semiconductor firm owned by China's Wingtech.

"Over more than a decade since China and the Netherlands established an open and pragmatic comprehensive cooperative partnership, bilateral economic and trade cooperation between the two countries has continued to deepen. On July 7, Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Sjoerd Sjoerdsma of the Netherlands visited China, where he and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao co-chaired the 18th session of the China-Netherlands Joint Economic and Trade Committee, holding candid and in-depth exchanges on China-Netherlands and China-EU economic and trade relations. The two sides agreed that their governments should create a favorable environment to help enterprises resolve disputes through consultation and safeguard the security and stability of the global semiconductor supply and industrial chains," he said.