On March 16th 2004, State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan met with Mr. Solana, Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union and the High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, at Zhongnanhai.

Tang Jiaxuan said that currently both China and the EU are in the new development stage of great historic significance, as China is building a society in which the people enjoy a fairly comfortable life in a comprehensive manner and the EU will soon realize its largest expansion since its birth. He noted that both sides should seize the opportunity and further deepen China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership.

Mr. Solana said that the EU and China share the same view on further development of bilateral relations and major international and regional issues. The EU-China strategic partnership should not remain only words, but holds tangible content. The EU side stands ready to deepen consultation and cooperation with China in a joint effort to promote effective multilateralism.