Rice urges EU not to sell weapons to China

The European Union was urged tonight to heed Washington’s concerns before deciding whether to lift its arms embargo against China.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told EC President Jose Manuel Barroso that Washington fears that sales of European military hardware or technology could destabilise the sensitive situation between China and Taiwan.

“We made clear our concerns about the military balance,” Rice said after the meeting in Brussels. She said American forces were still in the region and that the transfer of technology might endanger “the delicate balance.”

The lifting of the arms embargo, which the EU imposed in 1989 after the Tiananmen Square crackdown against pro-democracy demonstrators in Beijing, is set to become a major point of discussion during an EU summit with President George Bush on February 22 in Brussels.

Rice said the United States also is concerned about the message new arms sales would send about the West’s attitudes toward China’s human rights record. Beijing’s treatment of dissidents and other human rights questions is a continued irritant in relations with the United States.

“We continue to believe the human rights concerns need to be taken into consideration,” Rice said. “The elements of Tiananmen have not been resolved.

“All that we can ask is that the European Union is aware of our concerns … and takes them fully into consideration in a decision that is made,” she said.

Barroso said the 25-nation bloc was taking Washington’s worries into account.

“We understand US concerns in this regard,” he said. ”The EU is not rushing into a decision.”

The EU has said it is ready to send a positive signal to the Chinese about its readiness to lift the arms embargo – but only if Beijing commits to improvements in human and democratic rights.

EU leaders have said the embargo could be lifted in as little as six months following an official review. Britain, France and Germany say the ban hinders relations with China, and that there are safeguards preventing any arms sales from being used improperly.