EU vows closer Asian ties

(BRUSSELS) - European Union leaders vowed Friday to bolster relations with China and Asia as they concluded a summit that aimed to improve the meagre growth prospects of the bloc.

"A mutually beneficial relationship with China is central for European Union and Chinese prosperity but I believe also for the rest of the world," said the head of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso.

"The European Union is already China's biggest trading partner and the Chinese are the second and fastest-growing partner but there is scope to do more, much more indeed, on services and investment," he added.

Barroso confirmed that he and the president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, would travel to an Asia-Europe summit next month and visit "a number of countries in South-East Asia where trade will feature high on the agenda."

"We believe it is very important to give more impetus to the EU-Asian relationship," stressed Barroso.

Van Rompuy noted that China was ongoing a "once in a decade leadership change."

"In a long-term perspective, it is in Europe's core interest that China succeeds."