CRI听力: Chinese Experts: Don't Wait on EU Lifting Arms Embargo

Chinese scholars are voicing skepticism towards reports that the European Union may end an arms embargo against China early this year.

They contend that though warming ties between China and Europe are creating favorable conditions for the lifting of the 21 year-old arms embargo, resistance is still strong both inside and outside the bloc, citing the biggest opposition as the United States.

Wu Jia has more.




French media has quoted a source close to EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton as saying the lifting of the embargo on all lethal weapons "could happen very quickly."

In a report presented at a summit to the bloc's national leaders last month, Ashton described the embargo as "a major impediment" to Europe-China security and foreign policy cooperation.

The news, however, is received with doubts by Chinese experts.

Zhang Zuqian, deputy secretary general of the Shanghai Institute for European Studies, says similar stories about the proposed lifting of China arms embargo have been repeatedly heard since 2003, but finds it disappointing that none of them came true.

He says he won't hold high expectations this time, though presently China and the EU seem to be at their honeymoon period.

Lifting the embargo would require unanimity across the 27 EU member states. France, Spain and Hungary are among those supporting the lifting, while Germany and Britain lead the opposition.

Zhang Zuqian says those small players tend to follow the great powers in the bloc.

"Britain proposes to enact a rule for arms exports, which includes a detailed list banning sales of thousands of arms to China and some other countries. Then it could agree lifting arms embargo on China. The proposal would set more restrictions on China-EU arms trade, even if the embargo is lifted."

What's more, the expert contends that the biggest impediment would be from outside the bloc, namely the United States, especially against the backdrop of the US seeking re-engagement in Asia.

"The US Congress passed a resolution which bans defense manufacturers that have arms trade with China from accessing military cooperation with the US. This is a big concern for European countries and enterprises, which have close and large-scale cooperation in the military field with the US."

Song Xiaojun, a military expert, doesn't expect the lifting to come soon either under the current voting mechanism of the EU.

But he says there is a larger coming trend for the lifting of the outdated embargo, given that Europe is economically strained and that it wouldn't take long for China to develop its own advanced weaponry.

Song Xiaojun emphasizes that the lifting would have more of a symbolic meaning, and that China is either way unlikely to import much from Europe.

"We may buy some key technologies, if the prices are reasonable. We won't solely count on arms import. We can develop them by ourselves. The imports would just help us shorten the research and development period for key technologies surrounding weapon platforms."

The expert adds that as a big power, China shouldn't be reliant on imported technologies to defend itself, and that past experience has proven that military and technological blockades will never hamper China's development.

For CRI, I'm Wu Jia.