The European Union (EU) hopes to reach a World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement with China as soon as possible, Finnish Foreign Trade Minister Kimmo Sasi said in Helsinki November 25

Meeting with a delegation of China's leading newspaper, the People's Daily, he said China and the United States inking a deal on November 15 is a major step forward for China's final entry into the WTO.

The accord is particularly important for the EU, as the EU has similar issues to discuss with China like the United States, said Sasi, whose country currently holds a six-month EU rotating presidency.

Sasi said the EU believes that the Sino-US accord will pave the way for the EU and China to strike a deal on China's accession to the WTO.

The EU has all along supported China's WTO membership, he said, adding that the WTO cannot exclude China with its 1.2 billion people.

Once the EU gets the details of the Sino-US agreement, it will promptly send a delegation to Beijing to open talks with China, he said. (Xinhua)