Chinese Vice Premier Huang Ju met with Jacques Santer, former president of the European Union (EU) Commission, and Taieb Cherif, secretary general of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), in Beijing Sunday.

When meeting with Santer, who is also former Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Huang spoke highly of the efforts made by Santer to boost China-Europe and China-Luxembourg relations. He said the Chinese government attached importance to China-EU ties, since China and Europe, two important international powers, shared the same or similar views on many important international issues.

Currently, China-Europe relations are developing "actively and with fruitful results," Huang said, adding that China will push forward friendly, cooperative relationships with Europe and Luxembourg.

When meeting with Cherif, Huang said that China, as a large developing country, has seen rapid progress in civil aviation, with its total volume of freight transport and passenger transport ranking 4th and 5th in the world, respectively.

China hopes to strengthen cooperation with ICAO, and better play its role in ICAO, Huang stressed.

(Xinhua News Agency November 8, 2004)