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Brussels (dpa) - Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was due to meet the European Unions most senior figures Thursday at his last EU-China summit before leaving office later this year, at a meeting aimed at deepening the relationship between the two economic giants.

No big decisions were expected of Wens talks with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, but issues are to include Chinas human rights record and a territorial dispute over islands in the East China Sea.

The EU and China - the worlds first and third largest economies respectively - are also to discuss their strategic partnership and the economic situations in China and the eurozone, its largest export market.

The talks come against the backdrop of an EU trade investigation into suspicions that Chinese solar panels are undercutting EU prices, launched earlier this month.

The build up to the summit was overshadowed by the decision not to hold a press conference, after EU sources said it had been "simply not possible" to accommodate conditions set by Beijing.

Chinese stipulations would have only enabled 15 European press representatives to attend, and ask just two questions between them, said a spokeswoman for the international press association.

Previous EU-China summits have also denied journalists the opportunity to ask questions of Chinas leadership. dpa hm mat npr Author: Helen Maguire

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