Beijing asks EU to end arms embargo

Chinese officials called for an end to the EU embargo on arms sales to Beijing Wednesday ahead of Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to the region later this month. "The EU side has many times confirmed that it would make efforts to lift the arms embargo," said Li Ruiyu, deputy director-general of the foreign ministry's European affairs department, according to an AFP report. "We of course hope the EU will honor its commitments and make the political decision to lift the ban at an early date." European nations remain divided on plans to end the embargo, which was imposed following the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989. France is the main driving force behind calls for a lifting of the ban but the US and Japan, concerned about tilting the power balance in Asia in China's favor, have lobbied hard against it. Antti Kuosmanen, ambassador to China from Finland, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency, suggested last week that the time was still not right.