China on Thursday expressed its willingness to strengthen relations with the European Union, saying that both sides had reached a crucial stage in their development.

"Both China and EU share a strong will to boost bilateral ties," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu told a regular press briefing.

As the world is undergoing profound and complicated changes, and as the global economic recovery is still unstable, both sides are at a critical stage of development, Jiang said.

Invited by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the Commission Catherine Ashton and the Hungarian government, Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo will pay a visit to Hungary from May 12 to 15, during which he will attend a fresh round of the China-EU high-level strategic dialogue.

Dai and Ashton co-chaired the first round of the high-level dialogue in southwest China's Guizhou Province last year.

"The fresh round of the dialogue will focus on the development of international situations, the path of China's development and China-EU relations," Jiang said.

She also revealed that European Council President Herman Van Rompuy is to visit China, without disclosing specific dates.

"China is ready to make concerted efforts with the EU to make the upcoming events a success, in efforts to push forward bilateral ties," Jiang said.

China aims to develop an equal friendship with Europe, and carry out comprehensive bilateral cooperation on the basis of mutual respect and mutual benefit, she said.

Hailing current bilateral ties, Jiang said the two sides should seize the opportunities brought about by China's 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) and EU's strategy for the next ten years, the so-called "EU 2020" strategy, so as to expand bilateral cooperation.

"It's important for the two sides to accept each other's political reality and path of development, and seek to uplift strategic cooperation based on the acceptance," Jiang said, adding China and EU should enhance dialogue and mutual trust in political areas.

China supports the integration process of the EU, and welcomes EU to play a more active role in global affairs, she said.

Statistics show that China is now the EU's second-largest trading partner, and the EU is China's largest trading partner and export market.

(Xinhua News Agency May 5, 2011)