The China-EU summit also drew attention to the growing importance of the China-EU partnership following U.S. President Barack Obama's high-profile visit to China, Feng said. At the opening ceremony of the summit, Premier Wen noted that changes in the international situation demanded China-EU ties be more "strategic, comprehensive and stable."

They should expand consensus on major issues concerning the development of the world community, and deepen cooperation in political, economic and cultural fields, he said.

Chinese President Hu Jintao paid visits to Slovakia and Croatia in June and Italy in July. Premier Wen visited Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Britain and the EU headquarters in Brussels in late January and early February. He also attended the 11th China-EU summit in Prague, the Czech Republic, in May.

Also, Vice President Xi Jinping toured Belgium, Germany, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania in October. These high-level visits, coupled with the Europalia China art festival in Brussels and China's participation in the Frankfurt Book Fair as this year's guest of honor, have cemented official and people-to-people bonds between China and Europe.

In their joint statement issued in Nanjing, both sides stressed that China-EU relations have increasingly transcended the bilateral framework to include international implications.

With the Lisbon Treaty coming into effect on December 1, China needs to work together with the EU on strategic and global issues such as economic recovery and climate change more closely than ever, Feng said.

The Lisbon Treaty features new rules designed to make the EU more efficient in decision-making and more responsive to global challenges. For example, it has introduced a permanent president of the European Council and a quasi-foreign minister for Europe.

Under the Lisbon Treaty, the EU will be able to adopt a more coordinated policy toward China, said Yang Jiemian, President of the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, at the Forum on China-EU Strategic Partnership in Beijing ahead of the Nanjing summit. This allows China to work more effectively and directly with the EU to handle bilateral relations, deal with crises and discuss strategic issues, he said.

Moreover, as European countries embrace a common policy toward China with the coordination of the EU, it will be less likely for any individual EU member to try to affect China-EU relations, Yang said.

Agreements and Memoranda Signed at the 12th China-EU Summit

A renewal of the Science and Technology Agreement

A Memorandum of Understanding Launching Phase II of the Near Zero Emission Coal Project

A Memorandum of Understanding on Consultation and Cooperation Mechanism on Industrial Sectors

A Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation Framework on Energy Performance and Quality in the Construction Sector

A Financing Agreement for the EU-China Environmental Governance Program

A Financing Agreement of the New Trade Project "Support to China's Sustainable Trade and Investment System"

Sources: Joint Statement of the 12th EU-China Summit, www.eu-in-china.com