EU reconsidering Chinese arms ban

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BRUSSELS, Jan. 27 (UPI) -- Spain is weighing the pros and cons of lifting the European Union's 1989 arms embargo against China, a spokesman for the Spanish EU presidency says.

Foreign minister Miguel Angel Moratinos indicated the possibility that the arms sale embargo could end following a meeting of EU foreign ministers, the EUobserver reported Wednesday.

The European Union slapped an arms embargo on China following the Chinese government's Tiananmen Square crackdown on pro-democracy protesters 21 years ago.

China considers an end to the ban to be long overdue, a spokesman for the Chinese mission to the EU told the EUobserver.

"The embargo is outdated, it does not go along with the partnership between China and the EU," said Wang Xining.

He said lifting the embargo was a matter of principle and China was not necessarily going to place a large military order if the ban was lifted.