EU-China partnership essential to growth, prosperity: Barroso

The EU-China partnership is essential to growth and prosperity on both sides and the two should take a long-term approach to enhance their ties, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told Xinhua.

"The EU-China relationship must continue to be a major source of economic growth, jobs, development and innovation for both sides," Barroso said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua before leaving for an EU-China summit in Beijing.

At Thursday's summit, top leaders of China and the European Union (EU) will celebrate the 10th anniversary of their comprehensive strategic partnership and set the tone for future cooperation.

The two sides, for the past decade, have kept closer ties as they strengthen political dialogues, economic cooperation and culture exchanges.

"We are at an important juncture and the summit is of special significance ... It will be an important moment to look forward to the next decade of cooperation between the EU and China," Barroso said.

SUMMIT OUTLOOK

Barroso, along with President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy, is to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang during the summit.

"I am very pleased that I shall be meeting President Xi Jinping," said Barroso. "He has made a very positive contribution at the last G20 summit and we are working hand-in-hand with China and other partners to ensure the world's economy continues to recover."

The EU-China summit, which covers political, economic and cultural issues, is expected to launch negotiations on a bilateral investment treaty, which experts say will clear barriers for market access and boost two-way investment.

The meeting also includes side events on urbanization, business, innovation, energy, regional policy and youth entrepreneurship.

Barroso said the EU also expects progress in jointly tackling big global issues, such as sustainable world development, climate change, cooperation in the G20 and security in each other's neighborhoods.

"We have been dedicated in recent years to improving mutual understanding and trust, with important benefits on complex matters such as Iran or the fight against piracy, where our joint efforts can make a real contribution to global security," he said.

The president said he is highly convinced that China's ambitions for green economy and massive urbanization will offer plenty of business opportunities for both sides. European companies with technical know-how can help 1.35 billion Chinese achieve a higher quality of life, he noted.

"The EU and China have become highly interdependent," Barroso said, calling on both sides to take a long-term approach to enhance their strategic partnership.

"We look forward to setting out the direction for further strengthening our comprehensive strategic partnership to face the future challenges," he said.

INVESTMENT TALKS

While two-way trade exceeds 1 billion euros per day on average, bilateral investment is far below expectation, with only 2 percent of the region's foreign direct investment in China, compared to nearly 30 percent in the United States.

The European Commission was given the mandate last month to negotiate a bilateral investment treaty with China, said Barroso, adding that the summit should be the right time to launch the negotiations.

"This agreement will boost bilateral investment flows by providing a simpler and more secure and predictable framework to investors for a long-term investment relationship," he said.

The 28-member EU has the world's largest single market with half a billion consumers and an annual GDP of 12.6 trillion euros.

China, on the other hand, is the world's second largest economy with rapid growth as it deepens industrialization and urbanization.

TRADE CHALLENGES

The EU is China's largest trading partner, while China is the EU's second largest after the United States, and the EU's largest source of imports.

Last year, total bilateral trade exceeded 430 billion euros, a four-fold increase from 10 years ago, creating jobs and business opportunities for both sides.

However, the enduring economic and sovereign debt crises across Europe have served as a double-edged sword to the EU-China trade relations. Cooperation was strengthened while disputes were aggravated in the solar energy and other industries.

Speaking of trade disputes that were later resolved by both sides, Barroso said, "Bilateral irritants sometimes stand in the way of developing our long-term vision."

"We should build upon the experience gained in those disputes to sit around the table and proactively discuss and solve issues before they turn into disputes," he said.