EU Commissioner Charlie McCreevy has said that China's financial services have been "considerably" opened up and he would not press China to further open the sector during his upcoming China tour.

"Over the last several years, the Chinese authorities have considerably opened the financial services," McCreevy told Xinhua before he left on Sunday for China for his second visit as EU commissioner.

McCreevy said opening up financial market should be done "gradually" and "naturally" just like the Europeans did. That's why he had no plan to press China to further open up its financial sector during his visit, he said.

The commissioner will meet a number of senior Chinese officials, including Finance Minister Jin Renqing, Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China, and Shang Fulin, chairman of China Securities Regulatory Commission.

McCreevy said he will place particular emphasis on boosting cooperation between the EU and China through dialogue between regulators in order to promote convergence and market access in financial sectors.

He said he would like to strengthen EU-China regulatory cooperation in a number of key policy areas including financial services, accounting and auditing, securities and asset management, public procurement and intellectual property rights.

Before 2009 the EU is to assess whether Chinese accounting rules are equivalent to IFRS and with this in mind McCreevy said he will encourage EU-China cooperation in order to ensure coherent interpretation and application of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

In the area of public procurement, McCreevy will explain what the EU expects from China's initial offer in relation to the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) and will offer assistance in its preparation.

On intellectual property rights, McCreevy said he will encourage further cooperation and the exchange of information on respective patents strategies.

McCreevy last visited China in May 2006, when he held financial talks with the Chinese authorities.

(Xinhua News Agency June 10, 2007)