Eurozone crisis delays China-EU talks

I / Brussels October 21, 2011, 17:54 IST

An annual meeting between Chinese and European leaders has been postponed after eurozone leaders said they would hold a second round of crisis talks by October 26, the EU said today.

"Due to the upcoming meetings of the European Council and the heads of state and government of the eurozone countries, the EU-China Summit has been rescheduled to a later date," the bloc said in a statement.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was due to meet with president of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso and European Union President Herman Van Rompuy in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin on October 25.

But rifts between EU nations over how to solve the region's debt crisis have forced the 17-nation bloc to call a fresh summit next week, following a marathon weekend of meetings already in Brussels.

After vowing decisive action to their G20 partners, wrangling between Paris, Berlin and others has prompted the need for a further round of talks.

Van Rompuy talked with Wen by telephone and the two agreed to soon find a new date for their meeting, the EU statement said.

The plight of struggling European economies was expected to dominate the annual talks between China and the EU, which is increasingly looking to the cash-rich Asian powerhouse as a possible rescuer.

Both sides were also expected to push forward an investment agreement aimed at boosting market access.