China and Trade Embargo
Written by JDPGlobal | Monday, 04 July 2005
The EU is, understandably, very keen to improve trade relations with China since their economy has been on the rise. Last week, (June 2005) the EU Commissioner Peter Mandelson criticized the 15-year-old European arms embargo on China and said it was no longer a valid stand.
'The situation has changed since EU imposed the embargo in reaction to the Chinese military’s crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in 1989 and arms have become a mere anachronism since then’, he told a weekly EU press conference in Brussels.
He also agreed with Chinese officials that global trade liberalization talks should be advanced.
Intellectual property rights was another issue he stressed, adding that China and the EU will set up a joint expert panel to look into the technical aspects of enforcing the rules against widespread piracy.
This change in stance of the EU has aroused strong criticism from the US, which is worried that the military balance in Taiwan Strait might shift towards China. President George W. Bush during his visit to Europe urged Brussels not to lift the ban.
