Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero Wednesday pledged continuous joint efforts to promote the cooperation between China and Spain, and between China and Europe as a whole.

Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang (R) meets with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero in Madrid, Spain, January 5, 2011. [Ding Lin/Xinhua]

During their meeting, Li said China sees Spain as a reliable friend in Europe, and firmly backs Spain's efforts in countering the international financial crisis, as well as a series of economic and financial adjustment measures the Spanish government has adopted.

With its own efforts and the support from the international community, Spain will surely overcome the difficulties, achieve financial stability and economic growth, Li said.

Stressing the importance of boosting international pragmatic cooperation in eliminating the deep-seated impacts of the financial crisis, Li urged China and Spain to carry out cooperation in such areas as technology and capital, and achieve new progress in trade and economic development.

Spanish enterprises are welcome to bring their competitive products to China, he said.

Both sides can expand cooperation in new aspects such as energy conservation and environmental protection, new energy and new materials, Li said, adding that enterprises on both sides are encouraged to jointly explore the third-party markets to bring mutual benefits and achieve an all-win result.

Li said he is confident that new progress can be made in the all-round cooperation between China and Spain as long as both sides make efforts in concert and fulfill their agreed deals.

Zapatero, on his part, stressed the priority of Spain's relations with China in his country's foreign policy. He also called the ties the most successful cooperative relations.

Spain advocates globalization and multilateralism, and the building of a new, fair and balanced multilateral order, Zapatero said, adding that China should play an important role in this order.

Spain has been friendly to China, and has always been supporting China's reasonable concerns on bilateral and multilateral occasions, he said.