China and the European Union will hold their first ever summit from June 30 to July 1 on future cooperation in civil aviation, aviation safety and air traffic management, it was announced at a press conference held in Beijing on Wednesday.

Chinese Vice Premier Huang Ju will attend the opening ceremony of the summit, which is co-sponsored by the EU Commission and the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC). Vice President of the EU Commission Jacques Barrot and CAAC Director General Yang Yuanyuan will chair the summit.

Barrot and Yang each lead delegations of 150 members.

At the two-day summit, the two sides will hold discussions on a wide range of topics such as future cooperation in civil aviation, aviation safety, and air traffic management.

"The summit is an excellent opportunity to bring together top-level policy makers and industry executives to identify priority areas for future cooperation," Barrot said.

He added that China and the EU have conducted close exchanges and cooperation in civil aviation in recent years. Total transport volume between the two sides has increased by 20 times, with an annual growth rate of seven percent.

(Xinhua News Agency June 30, 2005)