Angry China flexing muscle with Europe over Tibet: analysts

BEIJING (AFP) — China's unprecedented decision to cancel a summit with the European Union over Tibet shows an increasing willingness for Beijing to flex its ever-strengthening global muscle, analysts said Thursday.

The China-EU summit, due to take place on Monday in France, was called off at the last minute by the Asian giant, which said it was unhappy at French President Nicolas Sarkozy's plans to meet the Dalai Lama after the meeting.

"This is an unusually strong way of sending a signal," said Robbie Barnett, professor of Tibetan studies at Columbia University in New York.

"The Dalai Lama has been visiting Western capitals since 1987 but there has not been a response to this degree -- the cancellation of a multilateral summit."