China, EU Agree To Hold Summit Soon

`We have decided today we will soon have a new summit between the European Union and China,` Jose Manuel Barroso told a news conference.

The European Union and China agreed on Friday to hold a summit soon, marking an improvement in relations strained by Europe's warm reception last year for Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

China cancelled a December summit with the 27-nation bloc to show its anger over a meeting between the Dalai Lama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who then held the EU's rotating presidency.

"We have decided today we will soon have a new summit between the European Union and China," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told a news conference after meeting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.

"The precise date will be decided by the appropriate channels," he added.

China calls the Dalai Lama a separatist, blames him for unrest in Tibet last year and has sought to stop him from meeting foreign leaders. The Dalai Lama says he only wants autonomy for Tibet, not outright independence.

Barroso said the EU and China agreed to a high-level meeting on trade in April. China is the EU's major trading partner, but relations are often strained by anti-dumping measures from the bloc, where some countries are afraid of cheap imports.

Wen and Barroso said they agreed on the need to have a global approach in trying to overcome the financial crisis.

They also discussed climate change with members of the EU's executive before a planned meeting with Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, whose country holds the six-month EU presidency.

On his first visit to Brussels in five years, Wen also signed a number of bilateral agreements with Barroso covering counterfeiting and piracy, illegal logging, mine safety and civil aviation.