First of all I would like to express my appreciation to Premier Wen Jiabao and his Government for having hosted this meeting. This executive-to-executive meeting is the third such meeting that we hold and it is the first time that we convene hereunder my second mandate in the Commission.

When I was last here we set out an ambitious agenda which I am pleased to see that we have largely fulfilled.

These meetings provide an opportunity for us to discuss in detail developments in our bilateral relations, compare notes on key global issues and take our joint agenda forward.

The bilateral relationship is strong, and the EU-China strategic partnership is even more relevant in an increasingly globalised world.

Whether it is on leading a global economic recovery, resisting protectionist pressures, combating the threat of climate change, addressing nuclear proliferation and other security policy questions I believe that China and the EU need to work together in the spirit of a strategic partnership and full respect of the ideas of stability and predictability in our relations

In our history of diplomatic relations, the EU has always supported a role for China in world affairs and in multilateral institutions and in fact China has always supported the European integration process.

PM Wen and I spoke candidly about our concerns. We spoke about our current economic situation globally and the contribution that China and the EU, as very responsible partners can give to a sustainable global recovery. We discussed without taboos all issues, the importance of rebalancing global growth, further using global imbalances, discussing matters from trade and investment to currency matters. I welcome the commitment of PM Wen to going on with opening the Chinese economy. I think the EU can also congratulate itself for having resisted protectionist pressures and having kept our markets open. We have also seen an increase of trade in both directions. In fact we are also after this meeting going to meet European business leaders because we want to be sure that the best conditions for investment are in place. Furthermore we have decided also to look at the possibility of reinforcing our conditions for investment both in China and in the EU in the future.

It is important for us to ensure a level playing field for European companies in China and I know that Premier Wen attaches great importance to the role of these European companies here in the Chinese market. In fact those companies are a key pillar of the EU-China partnership.

We have discussed specifically the issues of climate change and energy. We are in fact determined to build on the Copenhagen Accord and I think our regular dialogue on this topic is essential. That is why Commissioner Hedegaard and her counterpart, Vice Chairman Xie Zhenhua, have agreed, earlier today, to set up a "hotline" on climate issues and to conduct a regular dialogue at their level.