China expects early settlement of issue on EU weapon sales embargo: FM spokeswoman

It is high time to thoroughly resolve the issue of the European Union's (EU) weapon sales embargo to China, said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue Thursday.

Zhang said at a routine press conference that during German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's visit to China from Dec. 6 to 8, Chinese leaders will confer with him on Sino-German and Sino-EU bilateral ties and other issue of mutual concern, including the issue of the weapon sales embargo.

Also during the upcoming seventh China-EU Leaders' Meeting in the Hague on Dec. 8, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao will meet with EU leaders and the Chinese side will further enunciate its stance over the embargo, noted Zhang.

Sino-EU relations have developed rapidly in recent years, and it is unreasonable to retain such an embargo under such circumstances, Zhang acknowledged. China expects an early settlement of the embargo issue, which will be conducive for the two sides to further promote cooperation in various fields.

In addition, Zhang expressed her disagreement with linking the weapon sales embargo with human rights, noting that China has scored tremendous progress in human rights in recent years.

China and the EU had made many rounds of very effective human right dialogue, added Zhang, and all the differences and disputes between the two sides on human right issue should be resolved on the basis of equality and mutual respect through dialogue.

The Chinese side hopes that the EU member nations could make the right decision as early as possible from the perspective of overall situation of Sino-EU relations, the spokeswoman said.