China joined the EU-sponsored Galileo program for civil navigation use instead of military purposes, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said Tuesday.

Zhang made the remarks for refuting a recent Business Week's article that the program is for military purpose.

According to Zhang, the Galileo program can expand and develop cooperation between China and the European Union in science and technology, trade and transport areas.

China has always adopted an independent foreign policy of peace and the mutually beneficial cooperation between China and EU aims to promote common development and target no third party, she said.

"We hope certain people to abandon the Cold War mentality," Zhang told a regular press conference.

Galileo System, with a budget of 3.4 billion euros, is aimed to build up a worldwide satellite navigation system. Up to now, EU has sighed cooperative agreements with Israel and China and carried out negotiations for cooperation with a number of other countries, including Russia, India, Brazil and Australia.

(Xinhua News Agency October 27, 2004)