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China and EU agree on May summit
Source: Agencies/Shanghai Daily |
January 31, 2009, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
China and the European Union are to hold a summit in May, the two sides agreed yesterday.
The decision was announced by visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso at a press conference following talks at EU headquarters in Brussels.
China cancelled a December summit with the 27-nation bloc after French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country then held the EU's rotating presidency, insisted on meeting the Dalai Lama.
"We have decided today we will soon have a new summit between the European Union and China," Barroso told the joint news conference.
Czech diplomats said the EU and China both agreed to a proposal by Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek to hold the summit in May in the Czech Republic. The country currently holds the EU presidency.
"The main focus (of the talks) will be the financial crisis and both sides agreed it would make more sense to work on the basis of what is agreed in London," a diplomat said, referring to the London G20 summit on April 2.
Both sides also agreed to hold a China-EU high-level forum on economy and trade in April.
Wen and Barroso said they agreed on the need for a global approach in trying to overcome the financial crisis.
Barroso said he and the Chinese premier agreed that the two sides needed closer ties to deal with the global financial crisis and climate change. "None of them will be solved without strong cooperation between China and the European Union," he said.
"We have increased our mutual trust and that has played a big role in boosting China-EU relations," said Wen, who led a large ministerial delegation.
Signaling a desire for better ties, Chinese and EU officials signed nine cooperation agreements yesterday. They will see the EU hand over 60 million euros (US$79 million) to China to help combat the illegal drugs trade, bolster copyright protection for European companies operating in China and other projects. Pacts on fighting illegal logging, spurring the use of green energy sources, mine safety and civil aviation were also signed.
EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton said she would also hold special trade talks with her Chinese counterpart, Commerce Minister Chen Deming, in April.
EU officials also pressed Wen to increase the value of the yuan.
Wen defended China's currency policy and said the yuan had "appreciated by 20 percent against the US dollar," since 2005.
"We believe to maintain the stability of the Chinese currency on a reasonable and balanced basis at this moment will play a positive role in stabilizing international finance and the economy," Wen said.
China remains a key market for the EU and is the bloc's fastest growing export market.
The EU exported goods worth 72 billion euros to China in 2007, and this figure rose 12 percent over the first nine months last year, according to EU statistics. China, meanwhile, exported 232 billion euros worth of goods to the EU.
Wen arrived in Madrid last night for an official visit to bolster bilateral relations between China and Spain.
The decision was announced by visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso at a press conference following talks at EU headquarters in Brussels.
China cancelled a December summit with the 27-nation bloc after French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country then held the EU's rotating presidency, insisted on meeting the Dalai Lama.
"We have decided today we will soon have a new summit between the European Union and China," Barroso told the joint news conference.
Czech diplomats said the EU and China both agreed to a proposal by Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek to hold the summit in May in the Czech Republic. The country currently holds the EU presidency.
"The main focus (of the talks) will be the financial crisis and both sides agreed it would make more sense to work on the basis of what is agreed in London," a diplomat said, referring to the London G20 summit on April 2.
Both sides also agreed to hold a China-EU high-level forum on economy and trade in April.
Wen and Barroso said they agreed on the need for a global approach in trying to overcome the financial crisis.
Barroso said he and the Chinese premier agreed that the two sides needed closer ties to deal with the global financial crisis and climate change. "None of them will be solved without strong cooperation between China and the European Union," he said.
"We have increased our mutual trust and that has played a big role in boosting China-EU relations," said Wen, who led a large ministerial delegation.
Signaling a desire for better ties, Chinese and EU officials signed nine cooperation agreements yesterday. They will see the EU hand over 60 million euros (US$79 million) to China to help combat the illegal drugs trade, bolster copyright protection for European companies operating in China and other projects. Pacts on fighting illegal logging, spurring the use of green energy sources, mine safety and civil aviation were also signed.
EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton said she would also hold special trade talks with her Chinese counterpart, Commerce Minister Chen Deming, in April.
EU officials also pressed Wen to increase the value of the yuan.
Wen defended China's currency policy and said the yuan had "appreciated by 20 percent against the US dollar," since 2005.
"We believe to maintain the stability of the Chinese currency on a reasonable and balanced basis at this moment will play a positive role in stabilizing international finance and the economy," Wen said.
China remains a key market for the EU and is the bloc's fastest growing export market.
The EU exported goods worth 72 billion euros to China in 2007, and this figure rose 12 percent over the first nine months last year, according to EU statistics. China, meanwhile, exported 232 billion euros worth of goods to the EU.
Wen arrived in Madrid last night for an official visit to bolster bilateral relations between China and Spain.
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