China and the European Union on Thursday agreed to hold regular dialogue and step up long-term cooperation on climate change, as EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso arrived for a three-day visit, dpa reported. After talks between climate change officials in Beijing, the two sides issued a "China-EU joint statement on dialogue and cooperation on climate change," the Chinese government said. Barroso discussed climate change later Thursday with Premier Wen Jiabao, state television reported. Wen was quoted as saying China wanted to "raise the level of dialogue" with the European Union and urging it to recognize China's market economic status "as soon as possible." The joint statement said the two sides agreed to enhance consultations on policy, set up a regular dialogue mechanism at ministerial level, and open a climate-change hotline. It said they planned to "exchange views on key problems in international negotiations," domestic policies and measures, and on the development and implementation of climate change cooperation projects. The joint statement followed talks on Thursday between Connie Hedegaard, the EU commissioner for climate action, and China's leading official for climate change, Xie Zhenhua, the vice-chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission. Hedegaard said the talks were "fruitful" and that the agreement on enhanced dialogue was a "further step forward towards a closer cooperation." "Minister Xie Zhenhua and I expressed our support to the Copenhagen Accord and we will promote the reflexion of the accord's political agreements in the UN negotiation process," she said in a statement. "For the next climate change conference in Cancun later this year, we agree that the goal must be to reach a positive outcome," Hedegaard said. The joint statement said the two sides wanted to "restate our support for the Copenhagen Accord and promote the political consensus reached in the accord." Barroso was scheduled travel to Shanghai on Friday for the opening ceremony of World Expo 2010 and talks with President Hu Jintao. The two sides also planned to open the Europe-China Clean Energy Centre in Beijing on Friday, which the EU said would "highlight a concrete example of successful developments in our bilateral cooperation." An EU statement said the main focus of Barroso's trip was to "develop a forward-looking agenda for bilateral relations." "This will be our third working meeting since 2008 which shows the closeness of our cooperation," Barroso said in a statement before his visit. "The EU and China are important global players and it is essential that we work together in addressing common challenges," he said. -- SPA
