[far-east] china wants e. u. to allow arms sales
AP latest syndicated:
“No country can say they can resolve all the issues related to human rights perfectly,” Mr. Wen added after a summit meeting with EU officials.
The European arms ban has been a sticking point in the EU's relations with Beijing and stems from China's questionable human rights record. Mr. Wen objected to the EU's practice of linking “economic and trade issues with the so-called human rights issues.
“China attaches great importance to the issue of human rights and we identified human rights as the basic rights of the Chinese people,” he said. Mr. Wen also urged the international community not to threaten Iran with economic and other sanctions over Tehran's nuclear enrichment program.
“It is our hope that the international community ... will exercise caution on this matter and continue to work for a peaceful solution,” he said. The permanent members of the U.N. Security Council — the U.S., Britain, France, China and Russia — plus Germany have offered Iran economic incentives to persuade Tehran from enriching uranium.
Iran has ignored an Aug. 31 U.N. Security Council deadline to suspend enrichment. The EU and China, meanwhile, agreed to step up co-operation in nonproliferation and disarmament issues and “expressed their grave concern over (North Korea's) recent multiple launch of missiles,” said a final summit statement.
The two sides called for an early resumption of six-nation talks designed to resolve North Korea's standoff with its neighbours over its nuclear arms ambitions. In those talks, South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the United States have tried to persuade the North to abandon its nuclear program. North Korea has refused to negotiate since November to protest a U.S. crackdown on Pyongyang's assets abroad for alleged money-laundering and counterfeiting.
“No country can say they can resolve all the issues related to human rights perfectly,” Mr. Wen added after a summit meeting with EU officials.
The European arms ban has been a sticking point in the EU's relations with Beijing and stems from China's questionable human rights record. Mr. Wen objected to the EU's practice of linking “economic and trade issues with the so-called human rights issues.
“China attaches great importance to the issue of human rights and we identified human rights as the basic rights of the Chinese people,” he said. Mr. Wen also urged the international community not to threaten Iran with economic and other sanctions over Tehran's nuclear enrichment program.
“It is our hope that the international community ... will exercise caution on this matter and continue to work for a peaceful solution,” he said. The permanent members of the U.N. Security Council — the U.S., Britain, France, China and Russia — plus Germany have offered Iran economic incentives to persuade Tehran from enriching uranium.
Iran has ignored an Aug. 31 U.N. Security Council deadline to suspend enrichment. The EU and China, meanwhile, agreed to step up co-operation in nonproliferation and disarmament issues and “expressed their grave concern over (North Korea's) recent multiple launch of missiles,” said a final summit statement.
The two sides called for an early resumption of six-nation talks designed to resolve North Korea's standoff with its neighbours over its nuclear arms ambitions. In those talks, South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the United States have tried to persuade the North to abandon its nuclear program. North Korea has refused to negotiate since November to protest a U.S. crackdown on Pyongyang's assets abroad for alleged money-laundering and counterfeiting.
posted by James Higham @ 07:45
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