Trade Ties With EU Positive:Shi Guangsheng

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, February 01, 2002

Trade Ties With EU Positive:Shi Guangsheng

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Chinese foreign trade minister Shi Guangsheng said on Thursday in Brussels that trade and economic relations between China and the European Union (EU) have developed smoothly with good prospects and there are potentials for more EU-China cooperation in the future.

In 2001, EU-China bilateral trade totaled 77.6 billion U.S. dollars in value despite negative situation in the world economy, the Chinese minister told a joint press conference after meeting with EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy at a regular meeting of the EU-China Joint Committee on trade and economy.

EU investment increasing

European investment in China increased by 4 billion U.S. dollars in 2001 to reach 30 billion U.S. dollars in total investment by EU countries, Shi said, adding that further EU investment will promote bilateral trade ties.

Shi told reporters that he and Lamy discussed at the meeting a range of bilateral trade issues of common concern and both sides were trying to find better solutions to settling trade disputes in the future.

"The meeting was constructive and will be conducive for both sides to pushing forward bilateral trade development," he said.

More dialogue needed

Talking about their meeting, Lamy said the two sides reached consensus on many trade issues, including customs procedures and competition.

And both sides believe the EU-China trade relations need more dialogue, Lamy said, adding that his meeting with the Chinese trade minister was positive.

At the EU headquarters in Brussels, European Commission President Romano Prodi met with Shi Thursday afternoon and they talked about bilateral relations between the 15-nation bloc and China.

Shi, who is leading a Chinese delegation of trade officials and experts, arrived here Tuesday for meetings between EU and Chinese trade officials.

Backgrounder: EU, Chinese trade chiefs meet on cooperation

European Union (EU) Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy and Chinese Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Shi Guangsheng discussed the promotion of bilateral trade relations here on Thursday morning at the 17th session of the EU-China Joint Committee.

The meeting followed the successful and productive Fourth EU-China Summit, which was held in Brussels last September, when an agreement was reached on expanding EU-China dialogue on a wide range of issues of mutual interest.

The Joint Committee meeting serves EU-China relations in three aspects: economy and trade, bilateral agreements and dialogues between the European Commission and the Chinese government agencies, and the EU-China cooperation program.

The first Joint Committee meeting since China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) beginning Thursday will tackle all outstanding bilateral trade issues.

Lamy and Shi talked about how to support China's efforts to comply with its WTO commitments. As the Doha Development Agenda was launched, their discussion also focused on how best to cooperate in the context of the new round, said the European Commission, the EU's executive body.

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