By Nicola Smith - 9th March 2004
China’s deputy foreign minister on Monday urged the EU to lift its arms embargo against the regime, EU sources said.
Yesui Zhang stressed that that China will respect the EU’s code of conduct and did not expect to see a huge rise in the quantity of arms exports, said an EU official.
In talks with external relations commissioner Chris Patten, Zhang said Beijing believed the current ban was “inappropriate” given the changes in relations between the EU and China in the past 15 years.
The embargo was slapped on the regime following the brutal crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen square in 1989.
But Patten urged the Chinese to show “concrete improvements in human rights” if they wanted to persuade more sceptical EU governments that the time is ripe to lift the ban.
Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands are reluctant to rush a decision, stressing timing is crucial and that more profound debate is needed.
The French and German-led drive to change the status quo is also fuelling tension with the US, which is vehemently opposed to the move.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell raised the issue at last week’s meeting of top level EU and American officials in Washington, citing “concern” at Europe’s review of the embargo.
“We and the European Union impose prohibitions for the same reasons, most especially, China’s serious human rights abuses, and we believe that those reasons remain valid today,” he stressed.
Zhang will be meeting with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana today to continue diplomatic talks.
Solana's spokesman Cristina Gallach said a decision on the embargo could be expected during the mandate of the Irish Presidency of the EU, which runs out at the end of June.
But she stressed that internal discussions between the member states had only just started and that the decision would not be soon.
"Our bilateral relations with China go beyond the arms embargo. But this is a negative line that we have imposed on them and they are interested in getting rid of it," Gallach added.
Today's lunch between Solana and Zhang is to address cooperation on the trade and political front.
Solana will travel next week to Beijing to meet with Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and his foreign minister.
This will be followed with a meeting of Chinese and EU ministers in Dublin on April 19.
European Commission chief Romano Prodi is also scheduled to go to China in April, with a return visit by the Chinese Prime Minister to Europe in May.
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