President Hu Jintao yesterday called for more efforts to improve the mechanism of the China-EU Leaders' Meeting so that it better serves the comprehensive strategic partnership.

Hu made the remarks during a meeting with Prime Minister Jose Socrates of Portugal, which holds the EU's rotating presidency, and Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, who were attending the 10th China-EU Leaders' Meeting in Beijing.

During the meeting, Hu highlighted three priorities in which China and EU should make joint efforts:

Strengthen strategic mutual trust.

Expand pragmatic cooperation and seek mutual development.

Properly handle problems emerging from the development of bilateral ties.

Developing ties with China is beneficial to all and "we are here to strengthen our comprehensive strategic partnership and intensify our cooperation," Socrates said.

The China-EU Leaders' Meeting is a bilateral annual consultation mechanism established in 1998.

(China Daily November 29, 2007)