Li sees Sino-EU economic bond as vital to growth

Premier Li Keqiang said cooperation between the investment strategies of the world's two largest economies would be multifaceted and flexible, as he addressed more than 400 businesspeople, diplomats and experts at the China-EU Business Summit in Brussels on Monday.

Li said one of the many possible approaches to cooperation would be a China-Europe investment fund, as he introduced his ambition to pair China's Belt and Road Initiative with Europe's plan to upgrade infrastructure.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker unveiled a 315 billion euro ($350 billion) investment plan in November in a bid to revitalize the European economy.

Li said the China-EU partnership will focus on infrastructure construction and equipment manufacturing.

Juncker said investment from the private sector in Europe has slumped significantly in recent years, and "we hope that the investment plan will attract more investment, including from China".

China plans to continue to buy bonds issued by European investment banks, and make full use of existing international financial institutions, including the newly established Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

"Global cooperation in industrial capacity comes just in time and will produce win-win results. ..t will ensure industrialization in developing countries at a relatively low cost, expand the global market for developed countries and help China's industrial upgrading," Li said.

He said about 15 percent of the equipment used in Chinese nuclear power facilities and more than 30 percent in Chinese high-speed trains is bought from developed countries.

Yang Yanyi, Chinese ambassador to the EU, said earlier that both sides need to better understand each other's plans to find synergy between China's Beltand Road Initiative and the European investment plan.

Also on Monday, China and Belgium agreed to deals worth 18 billion euros covering finance, telecommunication, technology and education, following the first meeting between Li and Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel.

The two agreed to combine China's competitiveness in equipment manufacturing and the Belgian advantage in science and technology to develop the African market, a step closer to Li's ambition to tap overseas demand and fuel the domestic economy through cooperation of global industrial capacity.

Contact the writer at zhaoyinan@chinadaily.com.cn