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LIFTING ARMS EMBARGO NOT APPROPRIATE AT PRESENT: E.U. COMMITTEE

Central News Agency

2005-07-14 13:09:04

    Paris, July 13 (CNA) The European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs reiterated Wednesday that it is not appropriate for the European Union to lift its arms sales ban on China at the present time.

    The committee, which made the reiteration in a proposal raised at its meeting held in Brussels, also urged the E.U. to set up a security mechanism to monitor China's use of sensitive technology developed in the E.U.

    The proposal, along with several other suggestions also raised at the meeting, will be passed on to the parliament's Committee on International Trade for further discussions.

    The Committee on Foreign Affairs said in the proposal that the rapid economic development in China over the past 20 years has had a great impact on the relationship between Europe and China. "Currently, China is the E.U.'s second largest trading partner, and the E.U. has the largest trade deficit with China," the committee said, emphasizing, however, that "China should, in line with its economic growth, carry out political reform."

    Expressing its regret that the E.U. has not brought about substantial progress in human rights and the rule of law in China while developing its economic and trade relations with China, the committee said that the E.U. has also not seen much success in the human rights dialogue between two sides since the dialogue began in 1997.

    According to the committee's Green Party Group, it is necessary for the E.U. to adopt further measures to deal with human rights issues with China, including the enactment of clear and proper binding rules on human rights in its trade policy toward China.

    Reiterating that this is not the right time to lift the E.U.'s arms sales embargo against China, the committee said that China's recent enactment of the Anti-Secession Law is neither beneficial to a lifting of the ban nor conducive to regional stability.

    The committee also voiced its concerns about China's participation in the E.U.'s Galileo Satellite Project, urging the E.U. to establish a security mechanism to prevent China from using the sensitive technology of the project for its military buildup.

(By Y.S. Lo and P.C. Tang)

Enditem/Li