Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told top European Union officials Thursday they are making an economic mistake to link progress in human rights to lifting a 15-year arms embargo and the official recognition of China as a market economy.
Wen told European Commission President Romano Prodi that the 25-nation EU should drop its human rights stance, noting that other countries have already done so and stood ready to benefit from more trade.
"From the very beginning we have not been in favor of the view that these two issues should be linked with human rights or other political issues," Wen told a joint press conference at the end of a two-day visit to EU headquarters.
He said that if the EU changed its position it would "secure a win-win situation.
"Many countries have shown a keen interest in resolving these two issues. As to the specific benefits you will get, they are self-evident," he said.
Wen said EU approval of China's market economy status within the World Trade Organization and the dropping of the ban on the arms trade "will do good not only to China but also to the European Union."
He said his government had made good on commitments to implement international human rights standards.
"The Chinese side has all along attached great importance to respecting and safeguarding human rights," he said. "As a matter of fact, China and the European Union have successfully conducted 17 rounds of human rights dialogues which proved to be quite productive."
Prodi agreed that those two-way talks had made "progress" but could not commit the EU to lift the embargo, which the EU imposed after the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square.
Despite recent pressure from France and Germany, which are keen to sell sophisticated weapons to China, EU officials have said that no agreement was likely any time soon.
Prodi said the EU would "improve the speed" in examining China's request to be given market economy status and added a preliminary judgment could come next month.
If the EU rules China has met its criteria, it would make it harder for the Europeans to hit back at China for dumping cheap products onto their market.
At their meeting, China and the EU signed four trade and custom cooperation agreements, with the aim of creating, as Prodi put it, "the single biggest" trading relationship "in the world."
Prodi said "the numerous agreements show how fast the relations are developing."
"We will further promote cooperation," added Wen.
The customs cooperation deal aims to combat endemic piracy of goods that international trade groups estimate costs Western companies US$16 billion in sales each year.
Other agreements focused on closer talks in opening up more trade in the textiles industry, while another dealt with high-tech cooperation.
Everything from pirated designer wear to movies and music CDs continue to flood European markets from China. In the works since 1997, the deal will offer administrative assistance to help customs officers work better together.
Beijing, which joined the WTO in 2001, claims it has started to stop the illegal use of trademarks, copyrights and other intellectual property by Chinese companies.
During talks Thursday, EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy pushed the Chinese delegation to open up bidding to European companies eager to get a piece of lucrative construction contracts for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Wen, who is on a 10-day trip through Europe, is aiming to boost economic and political ties, and clean up Beijing's human rights image tarnished in the wake of the 1989 crackdown.
The Chinese leader has already visited Germany and will head to Italy, Britain and Ireland before leaving for home May 12.Associated Press:
