Fact box
China-Europe High-level Political Parties Forum
1. The China-Europe High-Level Political Parties Forum was initiated on May 24, 2010, in Beijing, reaching broad consensus on many major strategic issues.
Under the theme of "Global Challenges and China-European Cooperation", both sides held exchanges on international issues, the financial crisis, climate change, environmental protection and China-Europe relations.
All representatives at the meeting from Chinese and European political parties agreed to work together to promote party-to-party exchanges between China and Europe, saying the forum had advanced China-Europe cooperation.
2. The second forum was held from May 16 to 18, 2011, in Beijing and Tianjin. The theme was "China's 12th Five-Year Plan and Europe's Strategy 2020: New Opportunities and Prospects for China-Europe Cooperation".
More than 30 European political parties and party groups, including the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia, and France's Union for a Popular Movement, sent senior leaders to attend the forum. A second session of the second forum was held from Nov 7 to 9, 2011, in Brussels.
3. The third forum was held from May 28 to 30, 2012, in Brussels, under the theme of "China and Europe Cooperate to Meet Challenges".
To promote the continued growth of the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership, governmental and party officials from China and the EU held talks to find ways to strengthen cooperation in international issues and in economic, trade and financial areas.
4. The fourth forum will be held from April 22to 23 in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, and will be themed "Promoting Win-Win Cooperation for New Breakthroughs in China-Europe Relations". The forum will have three subthemes, which are "How to Build a Cooperative and Win-Win China-Europe Community of Common Destiny", "China's Path of Peaceful Development and China-Europe Cooperation in International Affairs", and "China's New Development Objectives and China-Europe Concrete Cooperation".
China Daily
(China Daily 04/12/2013 page11)