China urges EU to 'trash' arms embargo
(AFP)
Updated: 2005-11-04 15:10

Beijing has said it is not interested in buying European weapons, but that it is opposed to the ban in principle, especially as the EU and China have named their relationship a "strategic partnership".

"China's position is very clear. What we are not in favor of and are opposed to is in fact that this ban involves and reflects political discrimination," Li said.

"This political discrimination is not conducive to cooperation, it is totally useless and should be abandoned. If we really look at mutual benefit this is what we should do."

Although Li maintained there was little else China could do to nudge the EU toward the total lifting of the embargo, he did lay a veiled threat at increasingly lucrative bilateral trade.

"China's trade volume with the EU has for the first time exceeded the trade volume between China and Japan, without such discrimination no doubt the trade volume would be even bigger and we would have more benefits from the bilateral cooperation," Li said.

"The EU people, like the Chinese people, will reap more benefits from this process."