EU-China Summit takes place

The summit was extremely important for both Europe and China due to the current period of slowing global economic growth.

The EU was represented by European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. The People's Republic of China was represented by Prime Minister Wen Jiabao.

Both sides recognised that strengthening the EU-China strategic partnership is essential if either region is prosper in the current economic climate.

The agenda has addressed all the main bilateral, global and regional issues. The leaders have exchanged views about recent measures they have taken to reinforce the performance of their economies.

The progress made since the last summit in February was also discussed. The key areas that the previous summit had focused on were urbanisation cooperation, people-to-people contacts and reinforced energy cooperation.

In addition, new areas of cooperation were debated and further agreements signed. Syria, Iran and regional issues were taken into consideration, together with the co-operation in the G20 and on climate negotiations.

“Europe is taking its share of responsibility to help the world out of its economic and financial crisis. This EU-China summit allows us to discuss the state of both our economies and how to join forces to drive our economies out of their current difficulties”, said President Van Rompuy.

Premier Wen has been attending EU-China summits since 2003. This summit will be his last. The EU-China relationship has developed significantly during the past decade. It became much more strategic and comprehensive, because the EU and China have become more prominent players in the global arena.