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By Jiang Wei (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-11-29 11:56

Chinese and European officials yesterday called for more cooperation on trade, investment, energy and the environment and to tackle issues like the trade imbalance.

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"China and the European Union nations are great markets for each other," Vice-Minister of Commerce Yu Guangzhou told the fourth China-EU Business Summit in Beijing yesterday. "The two sides will enjoy great opportunities in the next 10 years."

Bilateral trade between the two economies was US$272.29 billion last year, while China's trade surplus against the European Union hit US$91.7 billion, sparking concern from both sides.

"The EU exports less to China than to Switzerland, a country of seven million people," said European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

"It (more balanced trade) will require further work on both sides and this is in the interests of both sides," he said.

Officials at the business summit also called for joint efforts on energy-saving, environmental protection and climate change, areas in which some European companies have leading technologies.

European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson expects China to grant more access to European Union players in the service sectors, in which they are comparatively competitive, in a bid to offset the economic bloc's trade deficit in goods.

The European Union is not only China's largest trading partner and its biggest export market, but also one of its major foreign investment sources. European Union members have invested $44.5 billion in China over the past 10 years, including the nation's largest joint venture project.

Meanwhile, European companies have shown strong interest in investing in China's research and development (R&D).

A survey conducted by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China showed 31 percent of surveyed companies with more than 100 employees have already set up R&D centers in China, and 32 percent want to open or enlarge their R&D facilities in the next two years.