Chirac calls for lifting arms ban on China

Paris, France, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- French President Jacques Chirac is calling on the European Union to lift a long-standing arms embargo against China.

"France supports lifting the embargo," Chirac said in an interview with China\'s official news agency, Xinhua, adding it no longer reflected present day realities.

The European Union imposed the weapons\' ban following China\'s 1989 crackdown against pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square, in Beijing.

Today, European countries are divided over lifting the embargo, with Sweden and the Netherlands opposed to doing so. The United States is also against it.

Chirac noted "stong reservations" on the part of Washington, but said Paris would push for a swift lifting of the embargo. His remarks were posted on the French presidency\'s Web site, and came ahead of Chirac\'s trip to China on Friday.

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Why is the US opposed to it?  Is it because China\'s military is quickly becoming comparable to our own?  (so I hear)

I really don\'t see a point to having this ban continue.  Sometimes the US imposes bans because we trick ourselves into glorifying the Cold War success we had.  Cuba is another example of trade sanctions that are pointless.  However, I would like to see us lift it without Chirac making an issue over it.

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^^^yea but you gotta admit,..when china did that s**t against those college kids,..that was just raw...runnin\' up on them with tanks and military personnel? totally uncalled for...it makes no difference to me...what they need to do is even that trade deficit we have with them....

I agree with Gigashadow.

Hmm, perhaps we can get some of the action? Or are the Chinese mainly developing stuff of their own?