EU tells China it will maintain arms embargo

The European Union today told China it will maintain its 15-year-old embargo on arms sales until Beijing makes significant improvements in its human rights record.

“We continue to be concerned about civil rights, freedom of expression, and we appeal to China to abide by the internationally agreed standards in terms of human rights,” said EU spokeswoman Francoise le Bail.

At talks to review relations between the 25-member European bloc and the world’s most populous nation, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and senior EU leaders signed several treaties on customs cooperation and science and technology.

Two-way trade rocketed to €150bn last year, double the 1999 figure. But flourishing economic relations have been overshadowed by EU concerns over human rights in China.

As the talks got underway, officials said the time was not right to end the arms embargo against China, given broad opposition in many EU nations.

China is on a buying spree of sophisticated military hardware for its 2.5-million strong People’s Liberation Army.

It wants the EU to lift its arms ban, imposed after the bloody 1989 crackdown on the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests.

Germany and France, eager to sell to China military, support an end to the embargo, but other EU nations are opposed, as is the United States. Washington has threatened to halt the transfer of defence technology to Europe if the EU ban is lifted.

“When considering the lifting of the ban, the broader relationship with China comes into play,” Dutch Foreign Minister Ben Bot recently told the Dutch parliament. “The human rights situation is an important part of that. A decision on lifting the ban is not currently at hand.”

Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, whose country now holds the EU presidency, led a high-level EU delegation in the talks with Wen.

Also on the agenda were such issues as Taiwanese elections, non-proliferation and the economy.

Human rights groups say China has a long way to go on improving its human rights record.

Amnesty International says “torture and ill-treatment remain widespread and endemic within China’s criminal justice system” and has called on Balkenende to address the issue.

Ahead of the EU-China talks, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue rejected the human rights argument as justification for maintaining the ban.

“To maintain such an embargo is discriminatory and an obstacle to the promotion of China-EU relations,” said Zhang.

The EU and China will sign a number of political and economic deals. Wen is to meet with European business leaders tomorrow and visit the European Space Agency.

China’s awakening as an economic giant has led to fast-growing economic ties. In 1980, China ranked 25th on the EU’s list of most important trade partners. It rose to 14th, sixth and third place in 1990, 1999 and 2003, respectively, according to EU figures.