Chinese premier arrives in Brussels for China-EU leaders' meeting

BRUSSELS, June 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrived here Sunday for the 17th China-EU leaders' meeting in Brussels.

Upon his arrival, Li said the China-EU relationship has witnessed increasingly prominent characteristics of strategic significance and mutual benefit after four decades of development.

He said China always firmly supports the European integration process and strives for deepening the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership based on mutual benefit and the win-win principle.

Li said he expects to conduct in-depth discussions with the new EU leadership on deepening bilateral ties and pragmatic cooperation, accumulating strategic consensus, coordinating respective development strategies, and broadening insights on cooperation.

He also voiced his hope for exchanging views on key issues of common concern, so as to break new ground for the China-EU all-round cooperation.

During his stay in Brussels, Li will co-chair the China-EU leaders' meeting with President of the European Council Donald Tusk and President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker.

He is scheduled to address the opening ceremony of a China-EU business summit and attend a forum on the China-EU urbanization partnership. ' Li will also meet President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz and Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel.

During Li's visit, China and the EU will issue a document to outline their future cooperation priorities and a statement on climate change, and sign several cooperation deals on regional policies, intellectual property rights protection, customs and technological innovation, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

The EU has been China's largest trading partner for 11 years while China has been the EU's second largest trading partner for 12 years. Bilateral trade volume exceeded 600 billion U.S. dollars in 2014.

After the Brussels trip, Li will go to France and deliver a speech at the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development headquarters in Paris. Afterwards, he will visit Marseille and Toulouse.

 李克强抵达布鲁塞尔出席第十七次中国欧盟领导人会晤

新华网布鲁塞尔6月28日电（记者俞铮　郑开君）经中欧双方商定，国务院总理李克强于当地时间6月28日下午乘专机抵达比利时首都布鲁塞尔，出席第十七次中国欧盟领导人会晤。李克强总理夫人程虹同机抵达。

欧盟和比利时政府高级官员到阿贝拉格机场迎接。礼兵在红地毯两侧列队，号手吹号致敬。中国驻欧盟使团团长杨燕怡大使、驻比利时大使曲星也到机场迎接。

李克强表示，中欧关系历经四十载发展，战略性和互利性日益突出。中方始终坚定支持欧洲一体化建设，致力于深化互利共赢的中欧全面战略伙伴关系。我期待同图斯克、容克两主席等欧盟新一届领导人就深化中欧关系与务实合作进行深入探讨，以改革创新的精神，积蓄战略共识，对接发展战略，拓宽合作思路，并就共同关心的重大问题交换意见，开辟中欧全方位合作的新天地。

在布鲁塞尔期间，李克强将同欧盟领导人共同主持第十七次中国欧盟领导人会晤并共见记者，出席第十届中欧工商峰会开幕式并发表演讲，在中欧城镇化伙伴关系论坛上致辞，会见欧洲议会议长舒尔茨。李克强还将同比利时首相米歇尔举行会晤并共见记者。