U.S. Unfazed by Renewed Call To Lift Arms Sales Ban on China
U.S. State Department officials say they are not alarmed by a renewed French call for the European Union to lift the embargo against selling weapons to China.
French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said Dec. 5 the 16-year ban on arms sales should be lifted. He called the embargo “an anachronism” that “does not reflect the reality of our relations with China, nor the reality of the strategic partnership which we are building with her.”
De Villepin’s comments came at the end of a signing ceremony in Toulouse, France, during which Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao inked a contract to buy 150 Airbus A320 airliners, a deal worth $9 billion.
A State Department spokesman said U.S. diplomats interpret the French prime minister’s comments more as pleasantries addressed at his Chinese guest than as a realistic forecast of impending change in European Union policy.
France, Spain, Germany and China were pressing the 25 EU nations last spring to lift the arms embargo, which was imposed after the 1989 massacre by Chinese troops of hundreds of pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square.
However, enthusiasm for lifting the embargo collapsed in March after the Chinese congress passed a law granting China the right to invade Taiwan should Taiwan attempt to declare independence.
Since then, Germany’s new chancellor, Angela Merkel, has sided with those opposed to lifting the embargo. Britain, which holds the six-month EU presidency through December, has no intention of lifting it, and Austria, which takes over the EU presidency in January, and Finland, which follows in July, are expected to hew to the British example.
Yet China remains tempting for Europe. Its expanding economy and rising consumer class offer an attractive market for European manufacturers. With defense budgets growing at a rate of 10 percent a year, China also is attractive to weapons makers.
For the Chinese, Europe’s defense industry promises an array of sophisticated weaponry, from fighter jets to helicopters to electronic warfare equipment.
Nonetheless, U.S. diplomats say they believe the embargo will remain. An EU lifting of the arms embargo against China “is not an active consideration at this point,” a State Department spokesman said.
French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said Dec. 5 the 16-year ban on arms sales should be lifted. He called the embargo “an anachronism” that “does not reflect the reality of our relations with China, nor the reality of the strategic partnership which we are building with her.”
De Villepin’s comments came at the end of a signing ceremony in Toulouse, France, during which Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao inked a contract to buy 150 Airbus A320 airliners, a deal worth $9 billion.
A State Department spokesman said U.S. diplomats interpret the French prime minister’s comments more as pleasantries addressed at his Chinese guest than as a realistic forecast of impending change in European Union policy.
France, Spain, Germany and China were pressing the 25 EU nations last spring to lift the arms embargo, which was imposed after the 1989 massacre by Chinese troops of hundreds of pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square.
However, enthusiasm for lifting the embargo collapsed in March after the Chinese congress passed a law granting China the right to invade Taiwan should Taiwan attempt to declare independence.
Since then, Germany’s new chancellor, Angela Merkel, has sided with those opposed to lifting the embargo. Britain, which holds the six-month EU presidency through December, has no intention of lifting it, and Austria, which takes over the EU presidency in January, and Finland, which follows in July, are expected to hew to the British example.
Yet China remains tempting for Europe. Its expanding economy and rising consumer class offer an attractive market for European manufacturers. With defense budgets growing at a rate of 10 percent a year, China also is attractive to weapons makers.
For the Chinese, Europe’s defense industry promises an array of sophisticated weaponry, from fighter jets to helicopters to electronic warfare equipment.
Nonetheless, U.S. diplomats say they believe the embargo will remain. An EU lifting of the arms embargo against China “is not an active consideration at this point,” a State Department spokesman said.
posted by Marko at 12/09/2005 09:36:00 PM
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