Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang said?in Madrid?Wednesday that China and the European Union should deepen their cooperation and strengthen their comprehensive strategic partnership.

Both China and the EU are important players on the world stage and builders of the international structure, Li told a group of Chinese and Spanish businesspersons at a breakfast meeting.

The two sides are at different phases of development, their economies are extensively complementary, and their interests are closely interwoven both at bilateral and global levels, he noted, stressing that a stronger China-EU relationship serves the interests of both sides.

In such a favorable context, Li said, China and the 27-member bloc should stick to the spirit of practical cooperation and further deepen and broaden their comprehensive strategic partnership.

Zooming in on economic cooperation and trade, the vice premier noted that China is the EU's second largest trading partner and export market and that China's imports from the EU rebounded rapidly in 2010.

For its part, Beijing will unswervingly pursue wider opening-up, promote intellectual property protection and improve its investment environment, Li said.

Meanwhile, he added, China hopes that the EU will recognize his country's full market economy status as soon as possible.

Li also said he hopes the EU will relax its export limitations on China over high-tech products, resist protectionism and handle bilateral disputes via dialogue, thus building a better environment for the two sides to reinforce their cooperation.

On issues of bilateral and global significance, China and the EU should strengthen their communication and coordination and champion multilateralism and global governance reform, Li said.

With China being the world's largest developing country and the EU as a whole being the world's largest developed economy, both sides advocate pluralism of world civilizations, uphold free trade, promote South-North cooperation, oppose terrorism and commit themselves to defending world peace and stability and boosting global development, he said.

The two sides, Li said, should understand and respect the development paths they each have chosen based on their respective realities, carry out exchanges and cooperation with the spirit of tolerance and play a more active role in world affairs.

China is ready to beef up communications and coordination with the EU on bilateral and multilateral platforms and make concerted efforts with the European bloc to counter global challenges such as climate change, energy security and major natural disasters, Li said.

Additionally, the vice premier said that Beijing steadfastly backs European integration and supports the EU in playing a bigger role in international affairs.

"I am confident that as long as we have full confidence, treat each other with honesty and make efforts in concert, we will surely be able to grasp favorable opportunities, overcome various challenges and achieve common prosperity of China, Spain and Europe," Li said.