Building bridges of growth together

Apart from automobile purchases, the contracts also cover fields like financial cooperation, energy and machinery.

"China's support for the EU's financial stabilization measures and its help to certain countries in coping with the sovereign debt crisis are all conducive to promoting full economic recovery and steady growth," Li said in a comment piece published in the German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung on Jan 5.

In his meetings with German President Christian Wulff on Jan 8, Li said Germany is China's largest source of technology in Europe. Hence it is beneficial for both countries and the world to see a combination of the German technology and the huge Chinese market.

Wulff said his country attaches great importance to China's development, and considers the nation as an opportunity rather than a threat. He agreed that the two countries should strive for closer strategic partnerships based on mutual trust.

Li responded that there is immense potential for Sino-German cooperation in areas such as clean energy.

In UK, the trip's final leg, 15 agreements and business deals worth 3.59 billion euros were signed in the presence of Li and British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg on Jan 10, covering fields such as low carbon, wildlife protection, deep-sea oil and gas exploration and development as well as financial cooperation.

China also agreed to loan two pandas, Tian Tian "Sweetie" and Yangguang "Sunshine", to the Edinburgh Zoo, as the nation's goodwill ambassadors.

"Our priorities should be to step up cooperation on the reform of the international financial supervisory mechanism, pushing forward trade negotiations of the Doha Round, and opposing trade protectionism," Li said. Both leaders agreed to utilize the opportunity to deepen cooperation and bolster bilateral relations.

"I see the UK and China as partners for growth. Our economies are becoming increasingly complementary, with British companies ideally placed to contribute to China's future economic development," Clegg said.

At a meeting with British Prime Minister David Cameron on Jan 10, Li said the significance of China-Britain relations has transcended the bilateral scope and hence both sides need to strengthen communication and cooperation on multilateral issues. He also invited British investors to invest more in China, especially the central and western regions.

In his speech Cameron hailed China's remarkable achievements in socio-economic development. He said the two countries are highly complementary economically and welcomed Chinese enterprises to invest in Britain's infrastructure construction.

During his trip, Li urged the three nations to lift restrictions on high-tech exports, remove arms embargo and recognize full market economy status for China.

Tian Dewen, an expert on UK studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, says the vice-premier's visit indicates that China sees Europe as an important partner to help build the nation's post-financial crisis image overseas.

China is now the EU's second largest trading partner and export market. The nation's imports from the EU rebounded rapidly in 2010 with bilateral trade crossing 330 billion euros during the first 11 months, a substantial year-on-year increase.

European countries have a traditional advantage in high-tech and clean energy industries, which serve China's needs if it is to transform its growth model.

The visit might also help China explore possibilities of new cooperation in technology transfer, especially green technology, to help ensure China restructure its energy-reliant economy, says Jin Ling, an expert on EU studies at the China Institute of International Studies.