Chinese president pledges closer EU cooperation

Chinese President Xi Jinping (C) meets with European Council President Herman Van Rompuy (L) and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, who are in Beijing for the 16th China-EU Summit, Nov. 20, 2013. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday called on China and the European Union (EU) to properly position their comprehensive strategic partnership amid the process of globalization so as to forge ahead with bilateral cooperation.

In a meeting with European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, in Beijing for the 16th China-EU Summit, Xi said China and the EU are two major forces in maintaining world peace, two important markets to promote common development and two civilizations to advance the cause of human progress.

He said the just-concluded Third Plenary Session of the 18th Communist Party of China Central Committee mapped out an overall plan for comprehensively deepening reform.

China is moving forward to the realization of the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation, while Europeans have sought a dream of integration for centuries, Xi told his guests.

Stressing that both sides are walking on roads that have never been tried by previous generations, Xi called on the two sides to show mutual respect, support and tolerance, and to treat each other equally.

China will continue to firmly support the construction of European integration, he said.

China and the EU need to bear the trends of historic reforms in mind, grasp opportunities, accurately position the comprehensive strategic partnership amid a multipolar world and economic globalization, and realize the innovative development of China-EU cooperation so as to benefit the peoples of both sides and the world, the Chinese president said.