16th China-EU summit to raise comprehensive strategic partnership to a new level

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16th China-EU summit to raise comprehensive strategic partnership to a new level

By Liang Jun (People's Daily Online) 14:11, November 15, 2013

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BEIJING, Nov. 15 (People's Daily Online)--The upcoming 16th China-EU summit to be held in Beijing on November 21 will raise the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two sides to a new level in all fields, said Mr. Markus Ederer, EU Ambassador to China, on Thursday.

Mr. Ederer made the point to reporters during a press briefing in Beijing. "The EU and China are key international players as their economic and trade relations are an essential pillar of the international economy. We hope the summit will provide new and dynamic momentum to the EU-China comprehensive strategic relationship," the ambassador said.

He believes the summit is of critical importance because it will provide an opportunity to celebrate ten years of a comprehensive strategic partnership between China and EU that was launched in 2003. It is also the first summit between the two sides since the transition to the Chinese new leadership.

Sustainable development will be one of the key drivers in future EU-China relations, said Mr. Ederer. The EU has high hopes for cooperation on sustainable development with China, in particular on green growth, and hopes to adopt an action plan before 2014 for the implementation of the urbanization partnership which was launched in 2012 between Li Keqing, former Chinese Vice Premier and now Premier, and President José Manuel Barroso of the European Commission.

Concerning the economy, Mr. Ederer said that a bilateral investment agreement would be one of the key outcomes of the upcoming summit.

The EU remains China's largest trading partner, while China is the EU's second largest trading partner. Bilateral trade in 2012 reached 447 billion Euros, or some 600 billion USD, a fourfold increase compared to 2003 when the two countries established their comprehensive strategic partnership.

China and the EU will also try to intensify exchanges on issues of concern to both sides, including market access, export credits, and public procurement, according to Mr. Ederer.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet with President Herman Van Rompuy of the European Council and President José Manuel Barroso of the European Commission. Premier Li Keqiang of the State Council will hold meetings with European leaders on November 21.

The 15th China-EU summit was held in Brussels on September 2012, attended by former Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.

（Editor：LiangJun、Zhang Qian）