EU, Chinese officials meet to discuss eurozone debt crisis

EU President Herman Van Rompuy (C) shakes hands with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao beside EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso at the Great Hall of the People during their summit, Beijing, Tuesday, February 14, 2012.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/226629.html

Senior EU officials and the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao have held a meeting in the Chinese capital of Beijing to discuss the eurozone’s sovereign debt crisis.

“China and Europe are all round strategic partners. In the face of difficulties and challenges we ought to have mutual understanding and collaborate towards common goals,” China’s Premier Wen Jiabao said on Tuesday while addressing the conference, adding that this relationship would “bring into harmony the basic interest of both sides.”

EU President Herman Van Rompay, who also attended the meeting as one of Europe’s senior officials, called for an increased market access for European companies in China.

“The times we are living in are challenging … we became so inter-dependent that change in the growth rate in one of the two strategic partners has a direct and palpable impact on the other one. Our economic destinies are interlinked,” Van Rumpuy said.

The meeting was also attended by the president of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barraso, who said that a closer cooperation would benefit both sides.

Since early 2009, Europe has been grappling with a financial crisis which has forced a majority of the continent’s governments to adopt harsh austerity measures and tough economic reforms. The implementation of austerity cuts have often been met with violent street protests, with the latest in Greece on Sunday.

Scores have been injured in the anti-austerity demonstrations, and many people have been arrested.

Meanwhile, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Liu Weimin on Monday called on “the European Union to resolve this (debt crisis) issue” as the continent is China’s largest trade partner.