Dharamsala – China urged the European Union on Thursday to lift its arms embargo calling it “a political prejudice against China”. The weapons embargo is a form of political discrimination, the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.
“The discrimination does not go along with the current world trend and the development of a comprehensive strategic partnership between China and the EU. We hope the EU can make the political decision as soon as possible, immediately, unconditionally, and completely remove the arms embargo against China, so as to remove obstacles in the way of China-EU relations,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said.
Spain which holds the rotating EU presidency said it was reconsidering the ban. Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said Tuesday that his country was ‘weighing the pros and cons’ of the embargo.
Moratinos also indicated the possibility that the arms sale embargo imposed on China 21 years ago could end following a meeting of EU foreign ministers, Euobserver.com reported on Wednesday.
Europe’s ban on arms sales to China was introduced following the Chinese government’s massive crackdown on pro-democracy protesters at the Tiananmen Square in 1989.
France has been one of the main supporters of lifting the embargo and ‘Spain is following that line,’ Mr Moratinos said Tuesday.
In 2008, the European parliament voted to retain the arms embargo as long as Beijing helped armed forces and groups involved in African conflicts.
In late 2004, EU leaders openly promised China that the ban would be lifted but the United States voiced opposition and warned in early 2005 that it would take actions against Europe if the promise was fulfilled. The European parliament voted to renew the arms embargo in 2008.
