President Jiang Zemin met with Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen of Finland, who currently holds the rotating president's post in the European Union (EU), and President Romano Prodi of the European Commission (EC) in Beijing on December 21.

Jiang said that mankind will soon enter a new century -- an important time for the Chinese and EU leaders to jointly discuss ways to further bilateral relations and contribute more to world peace and development.

He said that after meeting with several leaders of European countries and two visits to western Europe this year, he noticed that nothing can replace direct contact between leaders who are working to deepen mutual understanding and promote cooperation.

China is the world's largest developing country, and the EU is the most highly integrated regional organization with the largest number of developed countries in the world, Jiang said.

As long as both sides properly handle bilateral ties from a strategic perspective, a constructive partnership oriented to the 21st century will be established, he noted.

The President expounded on his view of the world's diversity. He said the world is a colorful place, and different countries are at different stages of development. They are divergent in cultural backgrounds, social systems, concepts of value, and lifestyles.

The world is exciting and vigorous exactly because of such diversity, and only by respecting such diversity and seeking common interest through communication can we follow the developing trends of the world society, Jiang said.

Jiang explained China's domestic situation, saying the Chinese government is safeguarding the basic human and democratic rights of the common people, and it has achieved noteworthy results in this regard.

He pointed out that in safeguarding human rights, the specific situation of a certain country must be taken into consideration, and by protecting the basic rights of subsistence and development of 1.2 billion people, China has made the greatest contribution it can to the world's human rights cause.

Lipponen and Prodi congratulated Jiang on the return of Macao, and introduced the EU's plan on development and reform. They said great changes are now taking place in Europe while it is adjusting its economic structure, and political reform will also be gradually carried out.

Under the new situation, it is of vital importance for the EU to increase its relations with China, and the EU is willing to work together with China to establish a constructive partnership facing the new century, they noted.