Chinese premier calls for stronger China-Europe partnership

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Chinese premier calls for stronger China-Europe partnership

(Xinhua) 09:29, November 23, 2013

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LONDON, Nov. 22 -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, in a signed article published by the British Daily Telegraph on Friday, called for efforts to build a stronger China-Europe partnership in the interest of both sides.

In the article entitled "A stronger China-Europe Partnership Will Bring Us All Greater Prosperity", the premier noted that the just-concluded China-EU Summit has yielded "fruitful results" with the "China-EU 2020 Strategic Agenda for Cooperation" being issued.

"It has announced the launch of negotiations on a China-EU investment agreement and set the goal of bringing China-EU trade to 1 trillion U.S. dollars by 2020," Li said.

Admitting that the 1 trillion dollar goal is "no low-hanging fruit" and "we need to jump to reach it," Li still expressed his confidence in attaining that goal.

"The agenda will definitely provide more opportunities for economic and trade collaboration between China and Europe, including the UK," Li said.

The premier, in his article, reaffirmed China's stance on supporting Europe's integration process, saying "a united, stable and prosperous Europe is in the interest of the world and of China."

"The growth of mutually beneficial business ties between China and Europe will not only bring benefits to both sides; it will also create brighter prospects for China-Europe relations. This should be a win-win endeavor," Li said.

On his upcoming visit to Europe, Li said he will "explore ways to boost cooperation" when meeting prime ministers of 16 central and eastern European countries in Bucharest.

"There is great potential for expanding cooperation between China and these countries and I look forward to working together with my colleagues from these nations to create a new impetus for developing our mutual relations," the article read.

The premier also gave a positive evaluation to the EU economy in a world economy he described as "bumpy and fragile", and called for cooperation between the two sides to meet the challenge.

"...We need to continue to work together and help each other," the premier wrote. In the meantime, "we need to keep our own houses in order."

"I am pleased to see that many European countries are leaving recession behind them and the EU economy is being put on a more stable footing," he said.

China, too, "has a good report card for its economy," Li said, and elaborated on how China has managed to tide over the difficult times.

"At the beginning of this year, the tough, complex situation, both domestically and internationally, placed mounting downward pressure on the Chinese economy. Some were predicting, as reported overseas, a hard landing for the Chinese economy and some even claimed it would go bust," the premier wrote.

"We faced up to that pressure and stuck to the policy of not allowing either the deficit to grow or monetary expansion or contraction. Instead, we adopted a holistic approach based on innovative macro-economic management," Li said.

"Despite a significant slowing down in the growth of government revenue and a 'credit crunch' in the middle of this year when the overnight inter-bank rate surged to abnormal levels, we stayed focused and did not inject liquidity into the economy, despite what many expected," the article read.

He then introduced the detailed methods that Chinese government has adopted to address both current and long-term needs:

"For example, we have steadily released the dividends of reform, provided a level playing field for businesses -- private capital in particular -- and tapped the potential of the market," the article read

"We generated the internal driving force of economic growth, improved supply and boosted domestic demand through structural adjustment," Li said.

The premier said under those efforts, the Chinese economy is "now on a stable footing and stays within a comfortable range," with GDP growth at around 7.5 percent and the inflation rate under 3.5 percent, he said.

Li also said that more than 12 million jobs are expected to be created this year.

"We have been responsible not only for our own sake, but also for the sake of the wider world because this will create more opportunities for global growth and contribute to the recovery of the world economy," the premier said.

On the recent-concluded third Plenary Session of the 18th Communist Party of China Central Committee, the premier noted it has "adopted a series of decisions aimed at comprehensively deepening reform in China."

"These decisions will not only speed up China's social and economic development, but also help address resources and environmental constraints, as well as uneven development between urban and rural areas and among different regions, thus bringing greater prosperity to the Chinese people and creating new opportunities for our relations with the outside world," said the premier.

Li mentioned that the growing ties between China and Europe are chief among these.

"China's modernization program will create historic opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation between the 2 billion people of China and Europe, including those in the UK," said the premier.

At the end of his article, the premier urged both sides to "seize this opportunity and deliver the benefits which cooperation can bring to all our peoples."