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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Tibet row puts off China-EU talks | Tibet row puts off China-EU talks |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| China has postponed a summit with the EU - planned for 1 December - amid tension over contacts with the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. | China has postponed a summit with the EU - planned for 1 December - amid tension over contacts with the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. |
| EU diplomats say China has been angered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy's plans to meet the Dalai Lama. France holds the EU's rotating presidency. | EU diplomats say China has been angered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy's plans to meet the Dalai Lama. France holds the EU's rotating presidency. |
| Mr Sarkozy has said he will meet the Dalai Lama in Poland on 6 December. | Mr Sarkozy has said he will meet the Dalai Lama in Poland on 6 December. |
| A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said "we oppose any foreign leaders having any contact with the Dalai". | A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said "we oppose any foreign leaders having any contact with the Dalai". |
| The spokesman, Qin Gang, was speaking to reporters in Beijing on Tuesday. The Chinese government has previously said Mr Sarkozy risks losing "hard-won" gains in ties with Beijing if he meets the Dalai Lama. | The spokesman, Qin Gang, was speaking to reporters in Beijing on Tuesday. The Chinese government has previously said Mr Sarkozy risks losing "hard-won" gains in ties with Beijing if he meets the Dalai Lama. |
| An EU statement on Wednesday said "the European Union, which set ambitious aims for the 11th EU-China summit, takes note and regrets this decision by China". | |
| The statement said the EU plans to continue to "promote the strategic partnership it has with China, particularly at a time when the world economic and financial situation calls for close co-operation between Europe and China". | |
| China's Prime Minister Wen Jiabao was set to attend the summit in Lyons. | |
| Territorial dispute | |
| The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959, after Chinese troops had crushed an uprising by pro-independence Tibetans. | The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959, after Chinese troops had crushed an uprising by pro-independence Tibetans. |
| Beijing says Tibet has been part of the Chinese nation since the 13th Century. | Beijing says Tibet has been part of the Chinese nation since the 13th Century. |
| Many Tibetans disagree, pointing out that the Himalayan region was an independent kingdom for many centuries, and that Chinese rule over Tibet has not been constant. | Many Tibetans disagree, pointing out that the Himalayan region was an independent kingdom for many centuries, and that Chinese rule over Tibet has not been constant. |
| Mr Sarkozy has said he plans to meet the Dalai Lama in the city of Gdansk on 6 December, where Poland will mark the 25th anniversary of the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Lech Walesa, who led the anti-communist Solidarity union in the 1980s. | |
| A French diplomat confirmed that Mr Sarkozy still intended to meet the Dalai Lama in Poland next week, the BBC's Oana Lungescu reports from Brussels. | |
| During a trip to France this summer, the Dalai Lama met Mr Sarkozy's wife Carla Bruni and the foreign minister Bernard Kouchner. | |
| Earlier this year the EU voiced serious concern about a crackdown by Chinese authorities on Tibetan protesters. |