EU, Chinese leaders urged to have 'open' talks

BRUSSELS - A senior European Union legislator called on EU and Chinese leaders to hold an "open dialogue" at Tuesday's summit to tackle trade protectionism "carefully and objectively".

"During the summit a topic that will be high on the agenda is EU-China trade and investment relations in the context of our strategic partnership," Iliana Ivanova, a member of the European Parliament and vice-chair of the parliament's delegation for relations with China, told China Daily in an interview before the 14th China-EU leaders' summit in Beijing on Tuesday.

Given the colossal scale of bilateral trade, Ivanova said: "It is important to discuss the issue of protectionism carefully and objectively."