Czech President Vaclav Klaus hosted Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso at the EU-China summit in Prague, which did not succeed in smoothing over differences between the Asian powerhouse and the European trading bloc.

The summit was originally scheduled to take place five months ago but was delayed by China after French President Sarkozy met with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

Disagreement over Tibet has persisted, with China unwilling to commit to "freedom of speech and the rights of ethnic minorities," one of the EU's demands.

"The most important thing is to stick to the principles of mutual respect and non-interference in each others' affairs," Wen politely but firmly said at a news conference after the summit.

The EU also failed to get China to agree to put pressure on Burma's junta to begin talks with pro-democracy forces and free opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

China also refused to join Europe in condemning North Korea's April 5 missile test.

The two parties could not agree on a common approach to global warming, with the EU hoping China would commit to significantly reducing its carbon dioxide emissions by 2020 and China wanting more help for developing nations to cut their emissions and tougher standards for developed countries.

Wen was unable to persuade the EU to lift its arms embargo against China or recognize the country as a market economy, a step that would bring big trade and investment benefits.

China and the EU are scheduled to revisit these divisive issues later in the year, just before a United Nations conference to be held in December in Copenhagen aimed at producing a global climate deal to succeed the Kyoto protocol.

hf/AP/dpa/Reuters
Editor: Nick Amies