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THE HAGUE (Reuters) - The EU told China on Wednesday it was not yet ready to end its 15-year-old ban on selling it arms, but suggested the embargo could be lifted in early 2005 despite opposition from human rights groups and Washington.
Imposed after Beijing's bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protestors in Tiananmen Square in 1989, the embargo on arms sales was expected to take center stage at a European Union (news - web sites)-China summit in the Netherlands.
But the agenda also included the prospect of China gaining dominance of the world textiles and clothing market after quotas are scrapped at the end of this month, and the EU's drive for an agreement on readmitting illegal Chinese immigrants.
Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot, whose country is currently president of the 25-nation EU, said he hoped the arms ban would be lifted next year. "We are working assiduously but... the time is not right to lift the embargo," Bot told reporters as he went into the talks with Premier Wen Jiabao and four Chinese ministers. EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana told France's Europe 1 radio that he hoped for a decision on the embargo soon and suggested that it could come at the bloc's summit next March.
The United States, which sees China as a long-term strategic rival, has lobbied the EU against lifting the ban, citing a potential threat to Taiwan and to U.S. interests in Asia.
But France has led a drive to scrap the embargo, which could open up lucrative trade opportunities with the world's fastest-growing major economy. The EU's trade deficit with China stood at 64.2 billion euros ($86.34 billion) in 2003.
Human Rights Watch said in a statement ahead of the summit that the EU should not let "business interests trump its longstanding proclaimed commitment to human rights in China."
"China's army turned its guns on its own people (in Tiananmen Square) after receiving orders from the political leadership," the rights watchdog said. "If the ban is lifted, the next attack could be with weapons supplied by EU states."
The EU's executive Commission, along with Britain and Sweden, say Beijing must demonstrate progress on human rights.
They also want a new EU code of conduct on arms exports to ensure greater transparency and to ensure that equipment sold is not used in domestic repression or regional conflicts. Officials say the new rule book is likely to be agreed this month.
CHINA'S ECONOMIC POWER
New EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said in an article in Wednesday's Wall Street Journal Europe that the EU must handle carefully the continuing rise of Chinese economic power.
"The new China is a fact. Our aim should be to engage and influence, not to see China as a strategic threat," he wrote.
Nevertheless, EU officials said they would tell China at the summit that it should wield with care its potential to flood the world market with cheap clothing and textiles when a decades-old import quota systems ends on Jan. 1, 2005.
China made 17 percent of the world's textiles and clothes in 2003. The World Trade Organization (news - web sites) sees that market share rocketing above 50 percent within three years.
The U.S. administration has said it will not hesitate to restrict imports of clothing from China if domestic producers present a compelling case.
"If the U.S. closes its market, the Chinese goods will have to go somewhere else, and that could trigger a domino effect around the world," said a senior European Commission (news - web sites) official, suggesting that others could resort to so-called "safeguard measures" allowed under WTO rules to protect their industries.
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THE HAGUE (Reuters) - The EU told China on Wednesday it was not yet ready to end its 15-year-old ban on selling it arms, but suggested the embargo could be lifted in early 2005 despite opposition from human rights groups and Washington.
Imposed after Beijing's bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protestors in Tiananmen Square in 1989, the embargo on arms sales was expected to take center stage at a European Union (news - web sites)-China summit in the Netherlands.
But the agenda also included the prospect of China gaining dominance of the world textiles and clothing market after quotas are scrapped at the end of this month, and the EU's drive for an agreement on readmitting illegal Chinese immigrants.
Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot, whose country is currently president of the 25-nation EU, said he hoped the arms ban would be lifted next year. "We are working assiduously but... the time is not right to lift the embargo," Bot told reporters as he went into the talks with Premier Wen Jiabao and four Chinese ministers. EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana told France's Europe 1 radio that he hoped for a decision on the embargo soon and suggested that it could come at the bloc's summit next March.
The United States, which sees China as a long-term strategic rival, has lobbied the EU against lifting the ban, citing a potential threat to Taiwan and to U.S. interests in Asia.
But France has led a drive to scrap the embargo, which could open up lucrative trade opportunities with the world's fastest-growing major economy. The EU's trade deficit with China stood at 64.2 billion euros ($86.34 billion) in 2003.
Human Rights Watch said in a statement ahead of the summit that the EU should not let "business interests trump its longstanding proclaimed commitment to human rights in China."
"China's army turned its guns on its own people (in Tiananmen Square) after receiving orders from the political leadership," the rights watchdog said. "If the ban is lifted, the next attack could be with weapons supplied by EU states."
The EU's executive Commission, along with Britain and Sweden, say Beijing must demonstrate progress on human rights.
They also want a new EU code of conduct on arms exports to ensure greater transparency and to ensure that equipment sold is not used in domestic repression or regional conflicts. Officials say the new rule book is likely to be agreed this month.
CHINA'S ECONOMIC POWER
New EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said in an article in Wednesday's Wall Street Journal Europe that the EU must handle carefully the continuing rise of Chinese economic power.
"The new China is a fact. Our aim should be to engage and influence, not to see China as a strategic threat," he wrote.
Nevertheless, EU officials said they would tell China at the summit that it should wield with care its potential to flood the world market with cheap clothing and textiles when a decades-old import quota systems ends on Jan. 1, 2005.
China made 17 percent of the world's textiles and clothes in 2003. The World Trade Organization (news - web sites) sees that market share rocketing above 50 percent within three years.
The U.S. administration has said it will not hesitate to restrict imports of clothing from China if domestic producers present a compelling case.
"If the U.S. closes its market, the Chinese goods will have to go somewhere else, and that could trigger a domino effect around the world," said a senior European Commission (news - web sites) official, suggesting that others could resort to so-called "safeguard measures" allowed under WTO rules to protect their industries.
discuss China and the EU in regards to weaopns
discuss