EU-China reconciliation summit deadlocked on problem areas

May 20, 2009, 15:57 GMT

Prague - The European Union and China on Wednesday hit deadlock at a summit in Prague which had been meant to highlight their reconciliation, as they failed to agree common language on any of the key points dividing them.

Ahead of the summit, diplomats close to the talks said that each side had proposed a lengthy statement agreeing a common position on contentious issues including Myanmar, North Korea, climate change and trade liberalization.

The EU draft stretched to 10 pages of detailed diplomatic text, while China's draft was seven pages long.

The rival drafts showed 'significant differences' over the controversial issues, diplomats said.

And in two hours of talks, EU leaders and Chinese premier Wen Jiabao failed to overcome those differences and agree a common position on any of the main topics.

Instead, they issued a joint one-page statement saying that they had 'focused on' economic and climate issues and 'exchanged views' on diplomatic ones, without mentioning agreement on any of those points.

The statement said that the two sides 'expressed their determination to strengthen cooperation' in the future.

The summit had been planned as a gesture of reconciliation after China pulled out of an earlier meeting, scheduled for December 1, to protest a meeting between French President Nicolas Sarkozy, then holder of the EU's rotating presidency, with exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.