First with EU-China summit cancellation, blow to hopes for better economic co-operation

Reuters was first to reveal on Nov 26 a major setback in the European Union’s troubled relations with China when diplomats told Brussels correspondents that Beijing had cancelled a long-planned Dec 1 summit in protest at French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s plans to meet the Dalai Lama. Rival news agencies could only quote Reuters before official confirmation came. The meeting was to have helped forge a joint response to the global economic crisis.