President Hu
Jintao??and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair met at
No.10 Downing Street on Wednesday, and Xinhua News Agency said
today that they reached a vital consensus on promoting their
existing comprehensive strategic partnership.
Hu said the establishment of the partnership in
2004 ushered in a new stage of development of bilateral relations.
Since then, the two sides have sustained high-level political
dialogue and consultation on sustainable development, and trade and
economic cooperation has yielded new results and the two countries
have maintained good coordination and collaboration, he said.
Blair said Hu's visit would push forward overall
cooperation between the two countries, and that his own visit to
China in September has reassured him that China's rapid development
is not a threat, but an important opportunity.
Hu reiterated that China attaches great importance
to relations with the UK, and that the two countries should regard
their relationship with a long-term and strategic perspective.
Political dialogue and cooperation on global issues
such as sustainable development, poverty alleviation, climate
change and free trade should also be enhanced within the
multi-lateral framework of the UN, WTO and Asia-Europe Meeting, Hu
said.
On China-EU relations, Hu said a closer overall
strategic partnership is of major significance to world peace,
stability and prosperity. "We hope to see the European Union
playing a more important role on issues pertaining to Europe and
the world as a whole."
Blair said the EU attaches much importance to its
relations with China, and will make further efforts to address
China's concerns.
After the meeting, Hu and Blair attended the
signing ceremony of the joint communiqué of the fifth meeting of
the Sino-British Trade and Investment Joint Committee and aviation
cooperation documents.
State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan and Deputy Prime
Minister John Prescott were also present at the meeting.
(Xinhua News Agency November 10, 2005)