27/11/2008 (Agence Europe) - Beijing expects a gesture from France before envisaging a new date for the summit with the EU that China cancelled on 26 November in protest against the recent meeting between Nicolas Sarkozy and the Dalai Lama in Poland on 6 December (EUROPE 9791). “The date of the summit will depend on when France, which holds EU Presidency, adopts concrete measures to create the right conditions for the summit”, the spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday 27 November. France alone bears the responsibility for the summit being cancelled, he said, asserting that China remained “firm” in its opposition to “any separatist activity of the Dalai Lama abroad and to contacts with foreign leaders”. The leader of the Liberal Group (ALDE) at the European Parliament, Graham Watson, warns the Chinese that “Communist bullying tactics of this kind will not work in Europe”. (H.B./transl.jl)