On the afternoon of October 30, 2003, Premier Wen Jiabao, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy, in his capacity as President of the European Council, President of the European Commission Romano Prodi and Secretary General of the Council of the European Union Javier Solana held the sixth China-EU leaders' meeting at the Great Hall of the People.

Wen said that in the recent years China-EU relations have stepped onto a sound path featured with stable, substantial and overall development through dialogue and cooperation between both sides. He said that as an important political force and economic entity, EU is playing more and more significant role in the international affairs. He noted that China has always supported the EU's endeavor towards integration, hopes to see a powerful and prosperous EU, and is willing to strengthen cooperation with the EU in every field, so as to benefit both peoples.

Wen pointed out that developing the China-EU relations is in the fundamental interests of both sides and will bring about mutual benefit and common prosperity. He also said that China-EU relations should be developed from the long-term strategic perspective. He said that the EU has successively issued five strategic papers on its policy towards China and the Chinese side has recently issued its first EU policy paper as a response to the documents of the EU. The EU is the fourth biggest investor to China. The bilateral trade volume has grown sharply and that during the first three quarters of this year hit 89.06 billion US dollars, up 41.5 percent over the same period of last year and surpassing the figure of the whole year in 2002. Cooperation between China and the EU in the fields of science and technology, environmental protection and transportation has also delivered rich fruits.

The premier thus put forward a four-point proposal: to keep frequent exchanges of high-level visits; to deepen trade and economic cooperation; to set up an effective cooperation mechanism; and to eliminate barriers hindering the healthy growth of the China-EU relations.

Berlusconi noted that the EU spoke highly of China's important contribution to world stability and the achievement of EU-China cooperation. He reiterated that the member states of the EU adhere to the one China policy and they will continue to conduct comprehensive and all-around cooperation with China.

Prodi said that the EU is willing to strengthen the political dialogue with China and take full advantages of mutual complementarity in various fields like economy, science, culture and education, so as to create a new situation for bilateral cooperation.

Solana said as vital forces in the international arena, both the EU and China face the same challenges, and enhancing cooperation benefits both sides.

Wen also exchanged opinions on international and regional issues of common interest with Berlusconi, Prodi, and Solana.

After the meeting, the two sides signed three agreements and cooperation documents, including an agreement on Galileo satellite navigation cooperation, a framework agreement on industry policy dialogue and a memorandum of understanding on the EU becoming an approved tourist destination.

The two sides also held a joint press conference and took up questions of journalists.