China is seeking to intensify ties with European countries amid a protracted global economic slump through its premier's upcoming visit to Europe, analysts said.

China announced on Tuesday that Premier Wen Jiabao would make official visits to Switzerland, Germany, the EU headquarters, Spain and Britain from Jan. 27 to Feb. 2. He will also attend the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.

The visit is intended to foster cooperation "in responding to the current financial crisis," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a regular news briefing.

She said China hoped for good relations with the European Union and believed the trip would "play a positive role on deepening mutual trust and bilateral cooperation."

This is the first high-level visit between China and the EU since China cancelled the 11th China-EU summit originally slated for December in protest against French President Nicolas Sarkozy's meeting with the Dalai Lama in Poland. France then held the EU rotating presidency.

Analysts said Wen's upcoming trip, especially the visit to the EU headquarters, showed that China highly valued the strategic partnership with the EU and was willing to further enhance cooperation in various fields.

"China will not change its general European policy only because of single incidents," said Ma Zhengang, director of the China Institute of International Studies (CIIS), a government think-tank.

"Strained China-EU relations go against the fundamental interests to either side and it needs both sides' efforts to iron out the problems," said Ma, who used to serve as Chinese ambassador to Britain.

Ma's views were echoed by another European affairs expert Feng Zhongping, who considered the visit "a clear signal to the outside that China-EU ties are still advancing."

China-EU cooperation in fields like economy and trade kept expanding last year despite the tough political atmosphere during the Beijing Olympic torch relay in Europe and some European leaders' meetings with the Dalai Lama, said Feng, a researcher at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations.

The EU has been China's largest trade partner in the past five years.Statistics from the Chinese Customs show two-way trade reached 425.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2008, up 19.5 percent year-on-year, a much higher growth rate than that of China-U.S. and China-Japan trade.

A business delegation will go with the Chinese premier on his trip and a number of deals and projects are expected to be signed, diplomatic sources said.

"These show China's sincerity to further strengthen economic cooperation with Europe," Ma said.

Apart from bilateral cooperation, the trip will also help boost the confidence of the international community in face of the financial turmoil, analysts said.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said China hoped Premier Wen's visit "will promote the international community to have more confidence and jointly cope with the financial crisis."

Feng labeled Wen's attendance at the World Economic Forum in Davos as "a historical event" as it is the first time for a Chinese premier to ever show up on the occasion.

"The Davos forum provides a good opportunity for China to convey the message of promoting confidence and express its firm will to stand side by side with the rest of the world," he said.

As for the future China-EU ties, analysts voiced optimism.

"It is unavoidable to have rifts or frictions between the great powers like China and Europe. So long as the two sides adopt a positive and pragmatic attitude, the ties will further develop," Ma at CIIS said.

In a recent interview, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi expressed similar optimism over the future ties.

"I think China-EU relations are full of hope as we two sides share quite a lot common interests," said Yang. "The bilateral ties will surely forge ahead."

(Xinhua News Agency January 20, 2009)