Foreign and Military Affairs

Advance Asia-Europe ties: Wen

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-10-06 08:09

BRUSSELS - China is willing to expand imports from the European Union (EU) to balance trade and increase flexibility of the renminbi exchange rate, Premier Wen Jiabao said during his meeting with eurozone officials on Tuesday.

From left: Premier Wen Jiabao, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, Belgium’s King Albert II, Belgium’s Prime Minister Yves Leterme and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso greet each other after arriving for the ASEM 8 summit in Brussels on Monday. [Photo/Agencies]

Wen held a meeting in Brussels with the head of the eurozone finance ministers Jean-Claude Juncker, European Central Bank head Jean-Claude Trichet and European Union economic affairs chief Olli Rehn on the sidelines of the eighth Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit.

He said the EU is China's largest trade partner and China is an important export market for the EU, so both sides should promote a healthy bilateral relationship with a strategic viewpoint.

Wen said China is also adjusting its economic structure and trying to expand its domestic demand.

He urged the EU to see the renminbi exchange rate issue objectively and fairly, which will be in the interest of both the EU and China and benefit the world's economy.

In his speech during the opening ceremony of the ASEM summit, Wen, who arrived here on Monday, called for advancing Asia-Europe cooperation from a strategic and long-term perspective.

He said "with the joining of Australia, New Zealand and Russia, ASEM partners have formed a close-knit community of interests, covering the entire Eurasian continent from east to west".

Wen made a five-point proposal in which he said ASEM partners must work together to promote global economic growth.

"We should intensify macroeconomic policy coordination, manage with caution the timing and pace of an exit strategy from economic stimulus, and keep the exchange rates of major reserve currencies relatively stable," he said.

The premier also said ASEM partners must work together to address global challenges, pointing out that "we must make concerted efforts to meet the climate challenge under the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities".

ASEM partners must work together to facilitate exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, the premier stressed, calling ASEM nations to embrace diversity in civilizations and religious beliefs and respect their differences.

ASEM partners must work together to uphold peace and stability in Asia and Europe, the premier said, urging ASEM countries to "adhere to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, intensify political interactions and strategic coordination, and enhance mutual understanding and trust".

On the sidelines of the ASEM on Tuesday, participants also presented proposals, saying Asia and Europe should increase their knowledge about each other and advance regional integration, higher education and research cooperation should be a top priority of the ASEM and more resources should be mobilized.

Premier Wen, who also met French President Nicolas Sarkozy on the sidelines, said China expected France to take new steps in pushing the EU for positive policies toward China.

He hoped the two sides could expand cooperation in areas such as trade, investment, high-tech and energy on the basis of mutual respect and equality.

Wen also expected the two sides to conduct close coordination within multilateral mechanisms like the UN and the G20 for building a comprehensive strategic partnership.

"Sino-French ties have become better than they were several years ago, when the French saw China as a threat," Ma Shengli, a researcher of the Institute of European Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told China Daily.

"But when it saw China's achievements in its social development and contribution to the fight against the international financial crisis, France began to hold a positive attitude toward China," Ma said.

Wen arrived in Brussels for the summit after concluding his visit in Greece earlier in the day.

He will also attend the China-EU summit in Brussels and then continue his four-nation visit which also will take him to Italy and Turkey.