▲Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao held talks with the President of the Swiss
Confederation, Hans-Rudolf Merz. After talks, both leaders attended the signing
ceremony for an agreement concerning the promotion and reciprocal protection
of investments and protocol between China and Switzerland.January 29: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited Germany. The two sides
released the Sino-German Joint Declaration Concerning Joint Efforts to
Stabilize the World Economyand signed many bilateral cooperation documents.
January 30: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited the EU headquarters and held
talks with the President of the European Commission, JoséManuel Barroso.
Both leaders attended the signing ceremony for 9 cooperation agreements after
the talks.▲Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited Spain. The two sides released the Joint
Declaration between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the
Government of the Kingdom of Spain Concerning the Further Enhancement of
the Bilateral Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.February 2: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited the UK and held talks with
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. After the talks, the two sides released the
Joint Declaration between China and the UK Concerning Intensified
Cooperation in Actively Addressing the Global Financial Crisis. Both leaders
attended the signing ceremony for many bilateral cooperation documents con-
cerning the economy, trade and investment, electric power, communications,
intellectual property, urban development, etc.
February 22: Chinese Vice-president Xi Jinping held talks with Prime Minister
of Malta Lawrence Gonzi in Valletta. After the talks, the two leaders attended
the signing ceremony for bilateral cooperation documents concerning eco-
nomics, cultural and judicial affairs, etc.
February 24: A delegation to promote Chinese trade and investment, led by the
Chinese Commerce Minister, Chen Deming, left for Europe to participate in a
series of trade and investment seminars, negotiations and purchasing activities in
Germany, Switzerland, Spain and the UK so as to boost the development of
China-EU bilateral trade, bilateral investment and economic technological
cooperation.
March 30: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met with Mirek Topolánek, Prime
Minister of the Czech Republic—rotating EU presidency—in Brussels.
March 31: China and the EU signed theProtocol Concerning Revision of the
Maritime Agreement between the Government of the People’s Republic of China
and the European Community and its Member Statesin Brussels.
April 1: Chinese and French foreign affairs ministries released a joint press
communiquéin which France refused to support“Tibet Independence”in any
form and both sides reaffirmed their reinforcement of the comprehensive
strategic partnership.Appendix: Chronicle of Events over Ten Years (January, 2003–September, 2013) 241