Finnish Foreign Trade Minister Kimmo Sasi said the European Union is looking forward to reaching an agreement with China on the latter's entry into the WTO.

Sasi made the remarks while he met with a People's Daily Delegation, headed by Deputy Editor-in-Chief Zhang Husheng November 25.

Finland is now the rotating country of the European Union and Sasi will lead a delegation to attend the WTO Seattle Summit.

Most contents of the negotiations between the EU and China on the latter's entry into the WTO are similar to those of the US-China talks, which concluded with a bilateral agreement earlier this month, Sasi said, adding that the agreement clears the way for the EU and China to reach agreement on the same issue.

The EU supports China's accession to the WTO from the very beginning, which is not only good to China's economic development, but the world economy as well, he pointed out.

It is vital to end talks on China's entry into the WTO as soon as possible, because China can thus participate in the new round of multi-lateral talks next year, Sasi said.

The minister also noted that once it receives the detailed information about the Sino-US WTO agreement, the EU will sent a delegation to China, which should take place before the EU-China Beijing Summit. He hoped the two sides will reach consensus on EU-China talks in the summit.