EU urged to lift ‘damaging’ arms embargo against China

Beijing – China has appealed to MEPs, visiting China this week as part of an annual inter-parliamentary meeting, to help end the EU’s arms embargo.

Zha Peixin, a senior Chinese parliamentarian, told the delegation that the Chinese found the ongoing embargo "very puzzling".

He said, "It amounts to political discrimination against China and acts as a barrier to the development of the EU-China strategic partnership. As such, it should be lifted as soon as possible."

Zha is vice chair of the National People's Congress foreign affairs committee and is also responsible for the parliament's relations with the European parliament.

He was also critical of the decision to invite the Dalai Lama to parliament in December and the selection of a Chinese dissident for the Sakharov prize.

That row threatened to overshadow the visit, one of the biggest delegations parliament has ever sent to China.

However, Belgian ALDE deputy Dirk Sterckx, who is leading the week-long delegation, told Zha in Beijing that any change to the arms embargo would have to be taken by all EU member states.

He said, "Parliament's powers on this are very limited but I have to point out that a large majority of MEPs are very much against lifting the arms embargo against China.

"The embargo is linked with the human rights issue and a number of questions remain unanswered. Currently, the issue of the arms embargo is not on the EU agenda."

Meanwhile, another top Chinese figure has urged the EU not to engage in any possible "trade war" with China in the wake of the current global financial crisis.

Communist party vice minister Zhang Zhijun told the delegation in a separate meeting that any such "protectionist" action would be counter-productive and should be avoided "at all costs".

He said, "China will stand up for free trade and I hope the EU and US will do the same."

He said there was great reluctance on the part of the Chinese to "bail out" Western economies currently facing economic difficulties.

"The general feeling is that we have had to earn our relative wealth the hard way. You also have to remember that China's GDP per capita is only one-tenth that of Europeans."

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