Vice Premier Li Keqiang and former British prime minister Gordon Brown agreed in a meeting on Thursday that China and the UK should deepen their comprehensive strategic relationship, according to a statement released Friday.

Li said he highly appreciated the efforts Brown had made to advance China-UK ties.

According to Li, the two sides need to treat the bilateral relationship from a strategic and long-term perspective, to enhance political trust and create a positive development atmosphere.

Economic and trade cooperation between the two countries has potential, and the two sides aim to fight against protectionism in trade and investment to improve efficiency, Li noted.

Brown said that he would like to make more efforts to develop the UK-China and EU-China relationship.

Brown was invited to China by the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs.