Europe praises choice of Liu for Nobel

"Europe still wants a closer, tighter commercial relationship with China," said Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform in London. "The Chinese think we're obsessed with human rights when in fact we're not. Southern Europe — Greece, Spain, Italy, Portugal — are not too concerned about pressing China on human rights." Even in Northern Europe, he said, "human rights is seen as something you mention occasionally but shouldn't let intrude in your commercial relationships."