BEIJING, April 6 (Xinhua) -- Senior Chinese leader Zhou Yongkang met Friday with visiting Austrian Federal Minister of Justice Beatrix Karl and pledged to enhance cooperation between the two nations on law enforcement.
Zhou, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said China is facing a lot of problems while achieving conspicuous development through reform and opening up.
The Chinese government has unswervingly adhered to the principle of ruling the country by law, Zhou said, adding that the latest revision of the Criminal Procedure Law epitomizes China's feat of democracy and construction of its legal system.
China is willing to exchange experiences on law enforcement, deepen pragmatic cooperation and work with Austria to combat transnational crimes, according to the Chinese official.
Karl said she had taken note of China's revision of the Criminal Procedure Law, featuring obvious innovation and progress.
The Austrian minister noted the revision of the law also brought new challenges for her Chinese colleagues, including how to secure balance between protecting the rights of victims and those of suspects.
Austria is willing to boost cooperation with the Chinese side, she said.
During their talks, Zhou also hailed bilateral ties between China and Austria over the past four decades, since the establishment of diplomatic relations, highlighting high-level interactions and economic cooperation.
Chinese President Hu Jintao's Austria visit last October and Austrian Federal Chancellor Werner Faymann's visit to China last May pushed the friendly cooperation between the two nations, said Zhou.
According to the Chinese official, China became Austria's biggest trading partner outside Europe in 2010, when their two-way trade rose to six billion U.S. dollars and that grew to nearly seven billion dollars last year.
"China attaches importance to its ties with Austria and is willing to make joint efforts with the Austrian side to continuously advance cooperation in various areas," he added.?