BEIJING, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- China is willing to continue to strengthen economic and trade cooperation with the European Union (EU), and hopes that the EU will firmly honor its commitment to openness, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Wednesday.

Recently, the 18th Europe-China Business & Technology Cooperation Fair was successfully held in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. In response to a relevant query at a regular press briefing, Mao said that a total of 18 editions of the fair have been held since 2002, attracting the participation of over 12,000 Chinese and European companies and reaching over 3,300 tentative cooperation deals.

The fair is one of the largest investment, trade, innovation and cooperation platforms between China and Europe, with the most extensive participation from EU member states and EU businesses, added Mao.

Noting China and the EU are highly complementary economically with deep convergence of interests, Mao said that economic and trade cooperation provides the anchor of China-EU relations. Over the past 50 years since the establishment of China-EU diplomatic ties, annual bilateral trade has grown from 2.4 billion U.S. dollars to more than 780 billion U.S. dollars, and the stock of two-way investment has jumped to over 270 billion U.S. dollars.

She said that so far, nationals of 25 EU member states can travel to China visa-free, and the China Railway Express has run nearly 120,000 trips, reaching more than 200 cities in 26 European countries. The respective strengths of China and the EU has enabled mutual benefit and delivered tangibly to people of both sides, Mao added.

"We stand ready to continue stepping up economic and trade cooperation with the EU, and promoting the sound and steady development of China-EU relations. We also hope the EU can firmly honor its commitment to openness and seize the important opportunities offered by China's development," said Mao. Enditem