Visiting Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang has met and appealed to leading Swiss entrepreneurs for strengthened cooperation for closer economic and trade ties.

"China and Switzerland are major economic partners to each other," Li said, "The economic and trade cooperation serves as an important basis for the development of bilateral ties."

Bilateral trade has continued to expand, and investment cooperation has been deepened, Li added.

Switzerland is a major source of foreign investment from Europe for China, which now has manufacturing bases set up by leading Swiss companies such as Nestle, Novartis and ABB, he said.

"Meanwhile, progress has been made in Chinese investment in Switzerland in such fields as energy, telecommunications and software engineering," he added.

The Chinese vice premier said technology trade between the two countries has also been enhanced. "For China, Switzerland is a major source of advanced technology in Europe."

Cooperation on technology has boosted the renovation of traditional industries and the development of high- and new-tech industries in China, Li said, adding it is a key reason Switzerland has achieved a trade surplus with China.

He outlined five priorities in furthering trade and investment cooperation with Switzerland.

As the first priority, Li proposed that the two countries should deepen their economic ties through further liberalizing trade and investment, standing against all forms of protectionism and pushing for a more balanced and fair outcome of the Doha Round of global trade talks.

China and Switzerland launched a feasibility study on a free trade agreement in November last year. Li said the two sides should press ahead with the feasibility study and prepare for the launch of negotiations.

The Chinese leader called for deepened financial cooperation as the second of the priorities.

China needs to learn from Switzerland and other European countries which are more experienced in managing finance and assets, Li said.

"Both sides should bring into further play the dialogue in finance, economy and insurance supervision, so as to help push forward the reform of the global financial system and bring about the overall recovery of the global economy," he said.

As the third priority, cooperation on energy conservation and environment protection should be further strengthened to make it one of the shining points of the trade and economic ties between China and Europe, he said.

Meanwhile, China is willing to work with the international community to materialize the Copenhagen accord of the UN climate change conference in December and push for new outcomes at this year's conference scheduled for November in Mexico, Li said.

As the other two priorities, cooperation in the field of high and new technology and that between small- and medium-sized enterprises of the two countries should also be further deepened, he said.

Li arrived in Zurich earlier Monday for a four-day visit to Switzerland, during which he will also attend this year's World Economic Forum annual meeting in the Alpine ski resort of Davos.