Bush opposes EU arms sales to China

In a sign that the US Europe row is far from over, President George Bush expressed American concern Tuesday over the European Union's proposal to lift its arms embargo on China.

Bush -- who is in Europe to try and heal the transatlantic rift caused by the US decision to invade Iraq -- was speaking Tuesday at a joint news conference with NATO secretary general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, after a summit meeting in Brussels where alliance leaders agreed to help train security officers for Iraq.

Lifting the arms embargo, Bush said, would allow the transfer of critical military technology to the Chinese that would "change the balance of relations between China and Taiwan, and that's of concern." The US also fears the possibility of advanced weapons technology and systems being transferred to other countries by China.

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The European embargo was imposed after the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989. But France and Germany now believe that apart from opening a lucrative arms market, lifting the sanctions would help cement political and economic  ties with China.

While asserting that "we intend to lift the last obstacles in our relations" with China, French President Jacques Chirac said clarified that the ban should be lifted "under conditions that Europe and the United States define together," and the sales would be under a tough "code of conduct."

Expressing skepticism, Bush said that once the code was finalized, he would need to "sell it to the United States Congress."

At another press conference later in the day, he said, "This notion that the United States is getting ready to attack Iran is simply ridiculous. And having said that, all options are on the table."

Bush's will be meeting German chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, in Mainz on Wednesday and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Bratislava, Slovakia on Thursday.