Helsinki, 12/09/2006 (Agence Europe) - During the third Business Summit between the EU and China that followed the EU/China Summit in Helsinki last weekend (EUROPE 9262), both parties decided to strengthen their cooperation on innovation by developing joint activities and identifying projects of mutual interest, the Commission states in a press release. The meeting on 12 September attended by many business leaders from both sides was marked, at political level, by the presence of Prime Minister Wen Jiabao for China, Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen for the Finnish Presidency, and Industry Commissioner Günter Verheugen for the European Commission. “Innovation plays a key role for economic and social development in China and the European Union. Innovation offers a large potential to the benefit of both regions”, Verheugen says in a press release. The summit was on the theme “Boosting Innovations - the New Era of the EU-China Economic Cooperation”, in three parallel workshops for discussion on the themes of “internationalisation in a globalised economy, enhancing innovations environment, and sustainable development strategies”. The press release states that the representatives of European and Chinese industry stressed on this occasion that both partners “should place trade and investment at the core of their relations”, the objective being to work together towards comprehensive business regulatory frameworks in the EU and China based on transparency, predictability and the effective implementation of rules on trade and investment.