A new forum bringing together Chinese and European political parties can become a platform for strategic exchange and cooperation, a senior Communist Party official said in Beijing on May 24.

Li Changchun, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, addresses the opening of the China-Europe High Level Political Party Forum in Beijing, May 24, 2010. [Ren Bin/China.org.cn]

"The forum will deepen mutual understanding and mutual trust between the Communist Party of China and European political parties," said Li Changchun, a member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Political Bureau, at the opening ceremony of the China-Europe High Level Political Party Forum.

"The forum will broaden the consensus between the CPC and European political parties and enhance comprehensive, strategic cooperation between China and Europe."

Li said the global financial crisis had exposed serious defects in the world economic and financial system. He said reform of global governance is urgently needed and cooperation between the two rising powers of China and Europe is imperative.

The CPC and European parties should exchange views on global challenges and issues and cooperate in building lasting peace and common prosperity, Li said.

He said the parties should hold open discussions of the common issues and challenges involved in managing a country and share experiences in promoting economic development, improving living standards, safeguarding social justice, and protecting the environment.

Li also said the parties should communicate with each other on party building.

"This forum will give the relationship between the EU and China an impetus," Lothar Bisky, chair of the European Left Party and leader of the Confederal Group of the European United Left-Nordic Green Left in the European Parliament, said in his speech to the opening ceremony.

"From such a dialogue one could expect that we are going to learn from each other rather than teaching each other," said Adrian Severin, vice chair of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament.

Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck, chair of the European Liberal Democrats and Reform Party; Reinhard Buetikofer, vice chair of the Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance in the European Parliament; and Valdis Dombrovskis, leader of the New Era Party of Latvia and Government Prime Minister, also addressed the opening ceremony.

Chinese officials from the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Commerce, the National Development and Reform Commission and more than 50 representatives of European political parties attended the opening ceremony.