Vice-Premier Ma Kai met with European Commission vice president and commissioner for economic and financial affairs Olli Rehn in Beijing on Jan 15.

Saying both China and Europe stand at their respective important stages of development, Ma called on the two sides to earnestly implement the China-EU 2020 Strategic Agenda for Cooperation.

Ma also called for more progress in Sino-European cooperation in high-technology trade.

The vice-premier urged the two sides to give full play to Sino-European economic and trade talks, and push ahead negotiations for an investment agreement.

Noting that the European economy had begun to pick up, Rehn said China and Europe should use economic and trade cooperation as an opportunity to boost own development and contribute to the world economy.

At a summit last November, the two sides announced the launch of negotiations on a China-EU investment agreement and set the goal of bringing China-EU trade to 1 trillion US dollars by 2020.