China urges EU to lift arms ban, US urges no

China urged the EU to lift its ban on arms sales to the country, saying that it is outdated and not in the interest of development of Sino-EU relations.

A spokesperson for the foreign ministry, Zhan Qiyue said: "It's not in the interest of the development of China-EU relations."

The arms embargo was imposed by Europe after China's crackdown on democracy campaigners in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Zhang said relations between China and the EU have been expanded considerably in recent years, making the embargo even more of an anachronism.

Her remarks came after US Secretary of State Colin Powell urged the EU to keep the arms embargo, saying he had lobbied several European foreign ministers on the issue.

Powell said he had cautioned against lifting the embargo on Wednesday in a telephone conversation with Foreign Minister Brian Cowen, and had also raised the issue with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer.

Zhang declined to comment on Powell's remarks, saying that is a bilateral matter between the EU and the US.

French President Jacques Chirac said last month that the embargo "makes no more sense today".