Chinese President Xi Jinping and the European Union have agreed for the former to close an anti dumping and anti subsidy probe into wine imported from the EU, as a goodwill step in time for the President's visit to Europe.

The statement from Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng said the agreement mirrored the two sides' desire for smooth relations regarding cooperation among wine producers.

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The Memorandum of Agreement between the wineries of the two sides was signed Tuesday paving the way for the end of the probe.

China had stopped importing wines from Europe for a year as it heeded the calls of the domestic associations. This affected the main wine producers in France, Spain and Italy.

Gao said trade disputes between governments are best settled through diplomatic negotiations specifically under the rules of the World Trade Organization.

Chinese statistics showed that trade between China and the European Union reached $559 billion in 2013.

The EU has been China's largest trade partner for 10 years, and China has been the second-largest trade partner of the 28-member bloc for 11 years.

Chinese President Xi Jinping kicked off his European tour Saturday, with visits to the Netherlands, France, Germany and Belgium from March 22 to April 1.

He is scheduled to sign cooperative agreements on finance, trade and manufacturing with world leaders like German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande.

President Xi will be in Europe for the third Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) in The Hague from March 24 to 25, at the invitation of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.