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As EU-China held high-level talks on trade, climate change and Tibet on Friday (April 25), Beijing announced plans to hold talks with the Dalai Lama's envoys. Following in the footsteps of the United States, a delegation from the European Union (EU) were in China this week to try and set up a mechanism for long term dialogue with the rising power, whose influence is increasingly felt internationally. President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, and EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson met Chinese President Hu Jintao and other high officials in Beijing on Friday as part of a series of talks aimed at generating an agreement on 'sustainable growth' and ease rifts over China's big trade deficit. But the talks were also dominated by Tibet and human rights in the wake of international condemnation of Beijing's policy in the mountain region. Friday saw the first meeting of the China-EU High Level Economic Dialogue where Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan outlined China's hopes for trade with EU. "China supports the continued opening up, and is against trade protectionism. Through increased dialogue and cooperation, both sides can win in the development process. I believe that this reflects the collective feelings of 1.8 billion Chinese and Europeans, and reflects the collective need of Chinese and European industry," Wang said at a news conference. Economic tensions have festered as China's trade surplus with the EU bloc surged to nearly 160 billion euros (251 bil...