Ma made the announcement after co-chairing the China-EU High-Level Economic Dialoguealongside EU Vice President Olli Rehn and EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht.

The two sides also made a commitment to prudent use of trade remedy measures, Ma saidduring a press conference following the meeting.

When dealing with trade frictions, China and the EU agreed to turn to dialogue andconsultation first, Ma said.

The commitment came months after the two major economies solved the solar panel tradedispute, involving more than 20 billion U.S. dollars of Chinese exports.

On the China-EU investment agreement, Ma said: "We are happy to see the EuropeanCommission has got the mandate for negotiations, and are willing to accelerate the processof investment cooperation."

The two sides also agreed to step up cooperation on customs, quality inspection, intellectualproperty rights protection and civil aviation, and expand their cooperation into areas suchas urbanization, innovation, energy saving and environmental protection.

China and the EU also agreed to make substantive progress in high-technology tradecooperation, said a statement released after the meeting by the Chinese delegation.

China hopes that the EU will take earnest measures to make sure Chinese investors goingto Europe have easier access to visas and work permits, Ma added.

In a written interview with media, China International Trade Representative Zhong Shansaid: "Since 2012, the EU has more frequently used trade remedy measures with moreextensive coverage."

In addition to the solar panel case, which affected about 7 percent of China's total export tothe EU, the EU is also considering mounting an ex-officio anti-dumping and countervailinginvestigation against Chinese wireless telecom equipment, Zhong said.