China-EU summit shelved due to debt talks

[October 21, 2011]  BEIJING (AP) -- China and the European Union on Friday called off a summit of their leaders next week so European officials can remain at home for talks on the continent's debt crisis.

The one-day meeting planned for Tuesday in the eastern Chinese city of Tianjin will be rescheduled to a later date, the Chinese government and the European Council announced.

The meeting was scheduled to include Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, EU President Herman Van Rompuy, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and other officials from the two sides. Several hundred European and Chinese businesspeople also were to have held a conference while the leaders met.

Friday's cancellation came after European leaders scheduled meetings through the weekend to seek a solution to the continent's debt crisis.

In a phone call with van Rompuy, Wen said the most important thing is to prevent the debt crisis from spreading and "a serious economic recession," according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

[Associated Press]

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