EU chief meets China's Wen with Tibet on agenda

BEIJING (AFP) — European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso met here Friday with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, launching high-level dialogue expected to include the unrest in Tibet.

The meeting with Barroso, who is leading a European Union delegation here, came as French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he was "shocked" by the deadly violence in Tibet and urged China to give greater autonomy to the region.

His comments, with France due to take on the EU presidency in July, could throw fuel on a simmering dispute over Tibet and subsequent protests in Paris and London that disrupted the Beijing Olympic torch relay.

Sarkozy said Thursday he had not yet decided whether to attend the August 8 Olympic opening ceremony in Beijing, but would work toward a common European position.

Barroso and Wen were expected to issue a joint statement after their talks, according to EU officials here.

"Our meeting today marks a significant step toward the strengthening of the strategic partnership between China and Europe," Barroso said as he began the talks with Wen.

"This is the first time we have a meeting of this kind, what we call an executive-to-executive meeting. It's also the first time that a large group of the European Commission visits China."

Wen said in his remarks that he had already talked with Barroso the night before in a "friendly" meeting.

"Consensus was reached on a lot of issues, laying a good basis for today's talks," Wen said.

Earlier in April, European lawmakers urged EU leaders to boycott the Games opening ceremony unless China resumes talks with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

China's own state media acknowledged shortly after Barroso's arrival late Thursday that the Sino-EU relationship had "soured" over Tibet.

"The main purpose is to mend the fissure that has occurred in the Sino-EU relationship," Shen Jiru, a researcher at the major thinktank Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Xinhua news agency.

The visit was planned some months ago and was due to discuss topics ranging from climate change to intellectual property rights.

Now, four months ahead of the Olympics, Barroso must attempt to please EU industry chiefs eager for business in China, and those who are clamouring for at least a symbolic protest against China's crackdown on Tibet.

Protests against Chinese rule over Tibet erupted in the Himalayan region's capital Lhasa last month, later spreading to other areas of China with Tibetan populations.

Exiled Tibetan leaders say the subsequent Chinese crackdown left more than 150 people dead. Beijing insists it acted with restraint, killing no one, and blames Tibetan "rioters" for the deaths of 20 people.