The European Union (EU) and China need an ambitious approach in negotiations aimed at reaching a new partnership and cooperation agreement, EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson says.

"This has to be an agreement of the highest standard and ambition, which both addresses current concerns and provides the framework for the coming years," Mandelson told Xinhua in a written interview ahead of a crucial China-EU summit.

With leaders from China and the EU ready to begin their annual gathering next week in Beijing, the new partnership agreement is almost certain to be high on the agenda, which will also include trade relations, cooperation in environmental protection and international hotspots.

Earlier this year, China and the EU officially launched talks on the new partnership and cooperation agreement, a key document to update the 1985 Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement, which currently constitutes the legal basis governing China-EU relations, and to set the tone for their future relations.

Mandelson said he hopes the new partnership deal could bring the EU and China, which are already leading trade partners with each other, even closer.

"On trade, we need to focus on the medium to long term, seeking an agreement that will enhance the business environment and unlock opportunities," Mandelson said. "This is in the shared interest of the EU and China."

The EU remains the largest trading partner of China while China is the trading bloc's second largest trading partner. In the first 10 months of this year, bilateral trade stood at nearly 288 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 27.5 percent over the same period of 2006, according to Chinese customs authorities.

Mandelson began his fifth visit to China on Friday since he became EU Trade Commissioner in late 2004. He is scheduled to meet Chinese trade officials and representatives from European businesses operating in the country.

His frequent trips to China highlight the increasingly closer ties between the EU and China, one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, although they still have some differences over trade issues.

Citing the trade gap between the EU and China as one of his major concerns, Mandelson said it will take him much time during the summit to find a solution with his Chinese counterparts.

"This is a development in our trading relationship that both sides need to take very seriously," he said.

EU exports to China grew by around 20 percent in 2006. Mandelson said he hoped EU companies could share more of the huge potentials the Chinese market offers.

Improved access for EU businesses and better protection of intellectual property rights would remain the issues on the table, Mandelson said.

In face of a globalized and more competitive world, the EU is seeking a stronger foreign economic policy to meet challenges especially from China and India, both the world's fast-growing economies.

The EU will treat China more as a "normal partner" in their trade relationship, Mandelson said. "We should make fewer allowances for China's 'developing' and 'emerging' country status, " he said.

The trade official stressed the importance of dialogue in resolving differences. "I do not see a dramatic U-turn away from dialogue and cooperation as either possible or desirable," he said. " Protectionism will not help us," he added.

"The EU-China summit will be an important forum for us to reflect on a number of issues in our relationship, and trade is vital to that relationship," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency November 25, 2007)