By Gemma Lougheed - 11th May 2005
Brussels has resisted pressure from China to lift the 15 year old arms ban, citing human rights as the key obstacle.
A list of human rights demands has been made by the Brussels including the release of the remaining 1989 Tiananmen Square protesters, and signing the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
At the EU-China summit in Beijing, EU external relations chief Benita Ferrero-Waldner insisted on Wednesday that the June target for lifting the embargo could be reached if both sides make concessions.
But she warned that “climate” should be right – highlighting human rights as a key European concern.
“Lifting the embargo will of course be easier if the climate is right," she said. "Above all, we need to help persuade our public opinion China is making concrete steps to improve human rights".
Associating human rights and the lifting of the arms embargo was rejected by the Beijing – the ban is seen by China as a “discriminatory” and a central goal of its improved relations with Europe.
"Linking this problem with the issue of human rights does not have any reason and is not helpful," said China's foreign minister, Li Zhaoxing.
"In human rights, there is world-renowned progress in China. However, this issue has nothing to do with the arms embargo lifting and we believe it is not logical or reasonable to link the two matters."
Europe is set to decide in June on the future of sanctions introduced in 1989 after the massacre of protesters in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
France is pushing hard for the embargo to be lifted in order to open China’s doors to European companies.
But Japan and the US are concerned that sales of advanced technologies to China could boost Beijing’s military presence and destabilise the regional balance of power.
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