HELSINKI: Visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Saturday urged European leaders to show their "farsightedness and courage" and "make the correct political decision" to lift the arms embargo on China and recognize China's market economy status.
Solving these problems would reflect "mutual respect and equality", said Wen, noting it will benefit both China and Europe.
Wen made the appeal at a joint press conference with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen. Finland is the current holder of the rotating EU presidency. The three leaders were attending the ninth China-EU Summit.
The 25-member EU still maintains an embargo on weapons sales to China. A French-led move to end the embargo was blocked last year with strong opposition from US and Japan.
A joint statement of the summit was released after the meeting, covering wide-ranging issues from human rights dialogues to controlling bird flu.
In the 36-article document, China urged the EU to lift the arms embargo at an early date, while the EU confirmed "its willingness to carry forward work towards lifting the embargo."
The two sides also announced the launch of negotiations on updating the 20-year-old Partnership and Co-operation Agreement, with the aim of "reflecting the full breadth and depth of today's comprehensive strategic partnership."
Leaders hope the new agreement can push the two sides to further their practical co-operation on economy and trade, sustainable development, environmental protection, social security, finance and youth exchange.
On sustainable development, for example, the two sides agreed to step up exchange of experiences with a view to building a resource-efficient and environment-friendly society. The EU promised to back China's efforts to introduce a circular economy and safeguard natural resources.
On the economic front, China supports practical co-operation but does not want the EU to link economic and trade co-operation with human rights issue.
"We disapprove of coupling so-called human rights issues to economic and trade issues," Wen told the news conference, adding that he hoped for more dialogue on the issue with the EU.
"China's advances in human rights are known to all," he noted.
The EU is now China's biggest trading partner. Trade reached US$120.95 billion in the first half of the year, a 20.9 per cent increase over the same period last year.
The leaders also talked about the Iran and Korean Peninsula nuclear issues.
They urged Iran to comply fully with the demand from the United Nations that it stop enriching uranium.
China appreciated the EU's efforts to solve the Iran nuclear issue, said Wen, urging Iran to take full consideration of the concerns of the international community and take constructive steps.
He said China will make joint efforts with other countries to seek a peaceful solution to the issue.
"Diplomatic effort is a hard and complicated process, and sanctions will not necessarily bring about a peaceful solution," said Wen.
He appealed for all relevant parties to keep cautious when thinking about launching sanctions against Iran.
With regard to the Korean Peninsula, leaders emphasized their wish to see the Six-Party Talks process resume as soon as possible.
They also expressed grave concern over the recent missile launches by Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Pyongyang has boycotted the Six-Party Talks, hosted by China, the United States, Republic of Korea, Japan and Russia, since last November.
It refuses to return to the negotiating table until Washington lifts financial restrictions imposed after claims that the country produced fake US money and traded illegal drugs.
Wen arrived in Helsinki on Saturday to attend the ninth China-EU Summit and the sixth Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) as well as start his official visit to Finland. His September 9-16 trip will also take him to the United Kingdom, Germany and Tajikistan.
(see full text of the Joint Statement of the ninth China-EU Summit at the www.hwdly.com.cn)
(China Daily 09/11/2006 page2)
