Date of release : 17-03-2005

Policy area : General Affairs and External Relations

The Luxembourg Foreign minister and current President of the EU Council, Jean Asselborn, met with Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing on 17 March 2005 in Luxembourg.

During this meeting, which Jean Asselborn qualified as "very open and fruitful", EU-China relations "featured prominently on the agenda."

"The relations between the European Union and China have developed significantly in all aspects in the past years", the Luxembourg Minister said, recalling that the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the EU and China would be celebrated in 2005.

The President of the EU Council reiterated "the European Union’s attachment to the ‘One China’ policy and to the peaceful resolution of disputes, which is the only means of maintaining stability in the Taiwan Straits, and its opposition to any use of force."

Another issue on the agenda was the situation in the Korean peninsula, which Asselborn qualified as "preoccupying for both sides." He added that "the EU attaches utmost importance to the ‘six party talks’ to address and hopefully solve the issue." He encouraged China "to maintain its engagement and to persevere in its efforts to bring North Korea back to the negotiating table."

Jean Asselborn also briefed his Chinese counterpart on the ongoing discussions in the European Union on lifting the arms embargo against China, recalling that the Luxembourg Presidency had received a mandate from the European Council in December "…to finalize the well-advanced work in order to allow for a decision."

The President of the Council stressed that the arms embargo issue had to be seen within the broader framework of ongoing discussions on the EU code of conduct for arms exports and provisions that will be applied to countries previously subject to an embargo. He added that his interlocutor agreed "that the lifting of the arms embargo cannot (…) increase the quantity of arms imports to China and create instability in some regions. We still are in a process of discussions and I hope that we will succeed." Jean Asselborn concluded by saying that he did not want to see the issue of the arms embargo mixed up with finding a solution to the Taiwan question.