Wu Bangguo (front), chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress (NPC), visits the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) near the Swiss city of Geneva, July 20, 2010. (Xinhua/Zhang Duo)

PUSHING TRADE, ECONOMIC COOPERATION TO HIGHER LEVEL

France is at present China's fourth largest trading partner within the EU while China is France's biggest trading partner in Asia.

During his visit to France, Wu said the Chinese and French economies were highly complementary to each other and had great potential for more bilateral cooperation.

Trade and economic cooperation was a major topic of the visit, with Wu calling for a close, long-term and sustainable type of new economic and trade partnership.

During a keynote speech at a business forum in Paris, Wu laid out a three-point proposal to jointly build a close, long-term and sustainable new China-France economic partnership.

The first was to deepen cooperation on big projects. The economic and trade cooperation between China and France featured many big and technology-intensive projects in such fields as nuclear power exploration, aerospace and high-speed railways, Wu said.

The second was to explore new areas of cooperation and boost mutually beneficial cooperation in such areas as new energy resources, new materials, energy-saving and environmental conservation, and low-carbon technology.

And the third was to improve the environment for investment and trade and oppose trade protectionism of various forms.

During his visit to Serbia, Wu expressed hope the two countries could strengthen cooperation in infrastructure construction as well as upgrading and restructuring enterprises to substantially improve trade and economic ties between them.

The Serbian leaders said the door remained open for Chinese enterprises, and Serbia was ready to create a better environment for corporate cooperation between the two countries.

Switzerland is China's main trade partner in Europe and a major source of foreign investment and technology and China is Switzerland's second largest trade partner in Asia.

Wu stressed the two countries needed to make vigorous efforts in promoting cooperation in ecological protection, environment management, energy-saving and emission reduction, low-carbon technology and green economy.