relations Beijing, Dec 3, SPA -- China said Friday that the European Unionmust lift its 15-year-old arms embargo against Beijing or risk damaging diplomatic relations. The end of the embargo won't fuel an arms race withTaiwan, said Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui, speaking inadvance of a trip by Premier Wen Jiabao to Europe nextweek. "If this embargo is maintained, there will certainly benegative impacts on the relations between the two sides,"Zhang told reporters at a briefing on Wen's trip. "We willconsider it political prejudice and an illustration of anunequal political relationship." Chinese officials plan to discuss the arms ban and humanrights during Wen's trip, the Chinese Foreign Ministry saidThursday. "Our biggest responsibility and hope is to raise ouroverall standard of living," Zhang said. "We have neitherthe capability nor the ambition to import weapons fromEuropean countries." Ending the European embargo will "have no impact on thesituation across the Taiwan Strait," due to recent stepstaken by the European Parliament to tighten controls onweapons exports, Zhang said.--SPA1344 Local Time 1044 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/221608