Brussels, Sep 19 (DPA) The European Union (EU) and China agreed Tuesday to establish "smart and safe trade lanes" in a bid to boost trade while tackling product piracy and preventing terrorist attacks.

EU Taxation and Customs Commissioner Laszlo Kovacs said he had signed an agreement on the cooperation with Chinese Customs Minister Mu Xinsheng, who was in Brussels for talks.

The scheme will start with pilot projects between Britain and China and the Netherlands in China, the European Commission said.

It would cover all sectors of trade but focus first on sea containers coming from the Chinese port of Shenzhen to Rotterdam and to the British port of Felixstowe.

The commission said it plans to extend the co-operation deal to all EU countries once the project was running successfully.

In addition, the project is designed to tackle the infringement of international property rights (IPR) and counterfeiting, Kovacs told reporters earlier Tuesday.

The EU is China's largest trading partner while China is now the EU's second largest trading partner after the US.