03/12/2014 (Agence Europe) - Tusk makes contact with Beijing. Following on from US President Barack Obama, new Council President Donald Tusk was quick, on his first day in office, 1 December, to speak by telephone to the senior leader of the world's third largest economy, Chinese President Xi Jinping. “It was a first opportunity to emphasise the importance I attach to developing a strong strategic relationship with China to the benefit of the European Union, China and the world”, said Tusk in a press release. He accepted the invitation of the Chinese head of state to visit China for the next bilateral summit in 2015, the 40th anniversary of EU-China relations. (EH)