Tibet Not Only Reason China Isn't at Sino-EU Summit

China's explanation for not attending the 11th Annual Sino-EU Summit, due to start today, was ostensibly because of a planned meeting between French President Nicholas Sarkozy and the Tibetan Dalai Lama, but the postponed meeting may also be due to ongoing unresolved trade issues between China and the EU.

According to researcher Andrew Small in the International Herald Tribune, the summit was already shaping up to be a big failure since both sides were unwilling to compromise.

"Neither side was offering the concessions on trade, security contacts and other issues that the other wanted," said Small who works at the German Marshall Fund policy institute in Brussels.

Small said it's likely Beijing felt that Europe needed more from China than the other way around. China is now the EU's second most important trading partner, and it's largest source of manufactured imports.