The Hindu : International : U.S. accepts E.U. arms sales to China

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Feb 11, 2005

International

International

U.S. accepts E.U. arms sales to China

By Nicholas Watt

BRUSSELS, FEB. 10. The United States has reluctantly accepted that the European Union will lift its arms embargo on China within months, Condoleezza Rice, American Secretary of State, indicated yesterday.

On the penultimate day of her week-long tour of Europe and West Asia, Dr. Rice praised European leaders for listening to U.S. concerns.

``I really have to underscore how much the Europeans have tried to take account of our concerns; how good the discussions have been,'' she said after lunching with NATO Foreign Ministers in Brussels.

In a sign of deep U.S. unease at the proposed move, however, Dr. Rice said: ``The United States has very specific concerns about the lifting of the embargo, having to do with human rights: 2,000 people were arrested after Tiananmen [military crackdown in Beijing in 1989] and 2,000 people are still jailed.

We do have to worry about the military balance in that region and we have concerns about technology and technology transfer.''

The U.S. is concerned that strengthening China's military capability could encourage Beijing to adopt a more belligerent stance towards Taiwan.

- Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004

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