China is ready to further its cooperation with the new European Commission (EC) to promote Sino-EU relations in the 21st century, Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji said in Beijing on December 21.

Zhu made the comment during the second China-European Union Summit meeting with Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen of Finland, who presently holds the rotating position of president of the EU, and President Romano Prodi of the EC. The two sides exchanged in-depth views on bilateral relations and other issues of common concern.

Both sides reviewed the smooth development of bilateral relations since the first summit meeting in London last year, and took note of the expanded cooperation in all areas.

Zhu said he appreciated the positive measures that the EU has taken to improve relations with China. China has consistently stressed the importance of relations with the EU and its members and considers this bond as vital to the country's foreign policy.

China has also steadfastly supported the EU integration and is glad to see the EU play a positive role in international affairs, he noted.

Lipponen and Prodi said that the EU hopes to increase cooperation with China since closer EU-China ties will benefit both sides and will help develop the world economy.

Zhu cited economic and trade cooperation as the "important basis" of Sino-EU relations. The EU is China's third largest trade partner and also the biggest supplier of technology and equipment to China.

He pointed out that although the economic and trade cooperation between the two sides has been fruitful, the scale and extent of bilateral cooperation should be increased.

The economic scale of the EU has exceeded that of the United States and Japan, but the trade volume of the EU with China accounted for 3.9 percent of its overall trade volume, while EU's investment in China occupied 2.24 percent of its total investment outside, Zhu said.

The EU is the largest group of developed countries while China is the largest developing country, he said, adding that the two sides are economically complementary. He said he hopes that the EU can reduce and finally abolish trade restrictions on China, increase high-tech exports and technology transfers, and take positive measures to encourage more European enterprises to invest in China and cooperate with Chinese counterparts.

Lipponen and Prodi said that both the EU and China are experiencing fast economic development, and there is great potential and enthusiasm for economic and trade cooperation between the two sides.

The EU will look into further investment in China, they pointed out, adding that the EU wants China to play a bigger role in the world economy, supports China's entry to the World Trade Organization (WTO), and hopes to reach a beneficial and stable agreement with China.

Zhu reiterated China's principled stance on its accession to the WTO and hoped the EU would make a decision as early as possible so that the two sides can reach agreement on the matter.