The mutually beneficial ties between China and the European Union (EU) witnessed rapid growth, Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi said in Beijing Thursday.

In a meeting with Erkki Liikanen, a member of the EU Commission, Wu said, as comprehensive and strategic partners, China and the EU are highly complementary in economy and the bilateral trade has seen rapid growth.

Statistics from China showed that China-EU trade scored a year-on-year growth of 37.5 percent to US$48.74 billion in the first four months of this year.

China and the EU also enjoyed good cooperation in the fields of science and technology, education, culture, environment protection, energy and quality inspection, she said.

In the meeting, Wu and Liikanen exchanged views on bilateral economic cooperation and pledged to further China-EU comprehensive cooperation for its better development in the future.

Liikanen was in China at the invitation of China's State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (SAQSIQ).

(Xinhua News Agency June 24, 2004)