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Premier forging close bond with EU at summit

By Zhang Xin (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-05-20 07:54

Premier Wen Jiabao is attending the 11th China-EU Summit in Prague, the Czech Republic, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.

The summit starts Wednesday.

"China's top leaders' attendance at the summit shows China's sincerity and interest in pushing forward relations with the EU," ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu told a news briefing.

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He said China hopes the summit will enhance mutual trust, deepen reciprocal cooperation and push forward the China-EU relationship, noting the leaders will exchange views on China-EU relations and major international and regional issues at the summit.

Feng Zhongping, European studies director at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said the resumption of the summit after a delay of five months shows the China-EU relationship was back on track.

Last December, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country then held the rotating EU presidency, met the Dalai Lama despite China's protests. The meeting dampened China-EU relations.

"The summit will substantially help coordinate China's and the EU's efforts to combat the current financial crisis and protectionism," Feng said.

A raft of agreements are expected and talks will also cover energy, anti-terrorism and climate change.

US act rejected

The foreign ministry Tuesday criticized the US's Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011 submitted by the House of Representatives on May 14, and urged the deletion of some sections that "interfere with China's internal affairs".

"The act has violated the principles guiding international relations, the three Sino-US joint communiqus and the commitments made by the US," Ma said.

Proposed by US Congressman Howard Berman, the act expresses the intention to establish a US consulate in Lhasa, Tibet, to monitor political, economic, and cultural developments in Tibet.

Call to protect Chinese

China Tuesday urged Papua New Guinea (PNG) to protect Chinese nationals after Chinese businesses in Lae, Madang and Goroka were attacked recently.

"The Chinese government pays close attention to the safety of Chinese enterprises and citizens in PNG, and the Chinese embassy to the country has required the PNG government to increase the police force in order to strengthen protection for the Chinese community and punish the rioters and looters," Ma said.

The Chinese community in the South Pacific island nation has already been alerted by the embassy for stepped-up self-protection and safeguarding measures.

According to the Chinese Embassy to PNG, nine Chinese-owned shops were looted, suffering from an unknown amount of financial losses but no Chinese were injured or killed.

Most of the shops have reopened their businesses.