Brussels, 13/06/2007 (Agence Europe) - In an individual statement to the press on Tuesday, following his meeting with Commissioner for Trade Peter Mandelson (EUROPE 9444), the Chinese minister of trade Bo Xilai, provided assurances that Beijing was taking European concerns seriously about the Union's trade deficit with China into account. He declared that “China never purposefully seeks a large amount of trade surplus” and contested the deficit figure of €128bn for 2006. He said that the figure was more like $90bn (€67bn) according to Chinese calculation methods. He affirmed that his country would “proactively attempt to increase imports from Europe” and referred to Airbus and nuclear plants in this connection. Mr Bo, however, called on the Union not just to focus on Chinese imports but also to look at the money invested in China by European companies. No solution on the trade deficit was put forward on Tuesday but Mandelson and Bo agreed to identify practical solutions for this issue and present proposals in this context during the EU/China summit next November. (eh)