European Union foreign policy Chief Catherine Ashton was in China on Tuesday ahead of talks with top leaders on trade, climate change and security issues such as the Iran and North Korea nuclear standoffs.

Ashton, who visited the World Expo in Shanghai on Monday, will take part in the inaugural EU-China High-Level Strategic Dialogue in the southwestern city of Guiyang on Wednesday, according to the EU.

During the dialogue — a forum intended to keep the two sides in contact on key issues — she will hold wide-ranging talks with State Councillor Dai Bingguo, China’s senior official on foreign policy issues.

She then travels to the capital Beijing on Thursday for meetings with Premier Wen Jiabao and Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.

“The EU and China face common challenges and share similar goals,” Ashton said in a statement released by the EU.

“I look forward to working together with State Councillor Dai Bingguo in order to advance a constructive and cooperative relationship with China — a key strategic partner for Europe in a globalised world,” she said.

Trade ties between the two sides are flourishing, with China now Europe’s second-biggest trading partner after the United States, according to the EU. China is also Europe’s fastest-growing export market.

However, ties also have been marked by tension over a number of trade disputes and EU complaints that China was backtracking on pledges to ensure a level playing field for European firms doing business in the Asian country.

China also last month said it opposed tough new sanctions imposed by the European Union on Iran over its contested nuclear programme, calling for more talks to resolve the standoff.

The EU, meanwhile, has been urging for more aggressive actions by key producers of greenhouse gases, such as the United States and China, to curb their output of the carbon emissions blamed for global warming.

“The EU and China have shown a common will to deepen bilateral relations on foreign and security matters such as the Korean Peninsula, Iran, Africa and piracy in the Gulf of Aden,” Ashton said in her statement.

The statement went on to say Ashton believed “strong EU-China cooperation could bring concrete solutions in these areas.”

Ashton was scheduled to hold a Thursday press briefing on her meetings with Chinese officials before ending the visit.