China criticized a 15-year-old European Union arms embargo on Tuesday as being stuck in the shadow of the Cold War and opposed efforts to link the abolition of the weapons ban to human rights. The EU imposed the ban after Chinese troops crushed a pro-democracy movement centered on Beijing's Tiananmen Square in June 1989. "We think it is completely unreasonable to link the human rights issue with the arms embargo and we firmly oppose it," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue told a news conference. Her comments come a day after EU leaders failed to reach a consensus to end the embargo, despite pressure from French President Jacques Chirac, who has been on a visit to China with a large business delegation. EU ministers said a stronger code of conduct on arms exports could lead to a removal of the ban. The EU is reviewing its policy on the basis of three criteria; China's human rights record, tension with Taiwan and the as yet incomplete EU code of conduct on arms exports. Zhang said China had made great efforts in protecting human rights in past 20 years and its rights record had never been better. "We think it is an inevitable demand to lift the arms embargo, a decision in the shadow of the Cold War, for the development the Sino-EU comprehensive strategic partner relationship," Zhang said. She said lifting the embargo would be in line with the two sides' common interests and urged the EU to "make a correct decision" at an early date. Britain on Monday denied it was blocking the lifting of the ban, but diplomats listed it among the opponents, along with Nordic countries concerned about human rights and east European states sensitive to U.S. lobbying. Washington wants the ban to remain in place, worried that the sale of high-tech weaponry could further inflame tensions between China and Taiwan, an island Beijing regards as part of its own territory and which it has vowed to attack if it declares independence.
