The European Union and China hope to relaunch their political and economic relations at a summit on Wednesday and create a "new global order" to combat the financial crisis, dwindling world trade and climate change. The last scheduled EU-China summit was postponed in December over Beijing's opposition to a meeting between Tibet's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy when France held the 27-nation bloc's rotating presidency.
Relations have also been further strained over Europe's criticism of China's human rights record, Beijing's policies towards Sudan's Darfur region and Myanmar plus a spate of trade squabbles between the two major trading powers. But both sides are expected to set aside their differences when they meet at the summit hosted by the Czech EU Presidency at Prague Castle and focus instead on how they can work together to overcome the worst economic downturn in nearly 80 years.
"It's true we have differences ... but the summit will be a milestone in our common journey for a new global order, ways to tackle the global recession, promote peace and save the planet," EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner, told a seminar in Brussels on Tuesday. China is confident the summit, attended by Chinese premier Wen Jiabao, will "be a success and another landmark in the history of our relations," said Beijing's ambassador to the EU, Song Zhe. "Under the storm of the financial crisis, we all understand better that our co-operation means a lot to us and to the world," he said.
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