Friends from the press,

Good afternoon. I am very pleased to meet you. This is my second trip to Europe in five months. In January, during China’s Spring Festival, I visited the EU headquarters and four European countries and attended the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos. I noticed that some reporters characterized the visit as a “Journey of Confidence”. It is true that during the visit, I kept stressing that in the face of crisis, confidence is more important than gold and currency. The visit produced an important outcome, which is, European leaders and I agreed in Brussels to resume the China-EU Summit as soon as possible. I’ve kept my promise. I took a ten-hour flight this morning to come here for the Eleventh China-EU Summit. As I have a lot of urgent matters to attend to at home, I’ll fly back to Beijing this evening, which will be another ten-hour flight. So all together, I will spend twenty hours on the plane. At the outset of the meeting this afternoon, I said that I have come with sincerity, responsibility and confidence. I said this from the bottom of my heart and what I have done is the best testament. The Chinese people believe that one must always keep the promise he has made and follow it through. Just as a person cannot stand without credibility, countries cannot maintain good relations without mutual trust. I believe this principle should also be observed in growing China-EU relations.

From the founding of the European Community to the enlargement of the European Union to 27 member states, China has always welcomed and supported European integration. For decades, China has remained committed to this position no matter what difficulties we encountered. Six years ago, China and the EU announced the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership. It was the result of joint China-EU endeavors and a serious commitment toward the future and the international community. The growth of China-EU relations accords with the trend of history and the calling of the times, and benefits the Chinese and European peoples and the international community at large. Here, I want to highlight the fact that the EU is China’s largest trading partner, and our two-way trade reached US$425.6 billion last year. During the past five years, EU export to China has grown by more than 20% year on year, making China one of the most important export markets for the EU. Almost all major European enterprises have made investments in China. They are beneficiaries of China-EU cooperation and witness to China’s reform and opening-up process. China and the EU should strengthen confidence, deepen cooperation and continue to forge ahead hand in hand.