China, EU underline urgency of economic, trade cooperation

BEIJING, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of China and the European Union (EU) on Tuesday underscored the importance of beefing up economic and trade cooperation in the context of the stagnant world economy.

The call came from the 14th China-EU summit in Beijing, which was attended by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

"It is currently the most urgent task for China and the EU to enhance economic and trade cooperation," Wen said at a press conference after the summit, during which he raised a five-point proposal to the EU side in this respect.

He suggested that the two sides should expand mutual investment, promote the balanced and sustainable development of bilateral trade, strengthen cooperation on scientific research and innovation, deepen energy and environmental protection cooperation and advance the partnership in urbanization.

Wen pointed out during the summit that with the global financial crisis still affecting the world in terms of politics, economics and security, it is the current trend for each nation to promote reform and widely participate in international cooperation.

Wen proposed strengthening China-EU cooperation with the following five points.

First, the two sides need to expand the bilateral trade scale. China is willing to import more products from the EU and promote balanced trade. China hopes the EU will relax its export control against China, carefully use trade remedy measures and create a favorable environment for the stable development of bilateral trade.