No EU plans for lifting China arms embargo: German official
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
Berlin, Sept 15, IRNA -- There are no plans to ease or lift the arms embargo against China, German government circles were quoted as saying in Berlin on Wednesday.
There will be 'no movements' on the issue of lifting the EU arms embargo against China during the EU summit in Brussels on Thursday which is to focus on deepening the EU-China strategic partnership, said a high-ranking German official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
He added the arms embargo against Beijing was 'closely linked' to the human rights situation.
The EU arms embargo has been in place ever since Beijing's crackdown of the
Tiananmen Square protests in 1989, however several EU countries, among them
Spain, have been pushing for a review of the arms ban.
The EU summit on China will discuss the arms embargo and the human rights as part
of a first 12-month phase geared at boosting the strategic partnership ahead of next month's EU-China summit, the German official said.
Chancellor Angela Merkel is to kick off the debate on China in Brussels, he added.
EU leaders have been pushing for intensifiying their strategic ties with the Asian powerhouse since the mid 1990s.
The EU has labeled its ties with Beijing 'strategic' as a result of China's mounting global political and economic significance.
China is the EU's second-largest trading partner after the US as the EU imports from China stood at 250 billion euros while its exports to China reached 80 billion euros.
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