The ban dates from the Tiananmen Square crackdown
China has warned the EU that it risks damaging bilateral ties unless it lifts a 15-year embargo on selling arms to Beijing.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui said the ban, imposed after the 1989 crackdown on protesters in Tiananmen Square, was "outdated".
Mr Zhang also denied that lifting it would fuel an arms race with Taiwan.
The ban is expected to be discussed at a China-EU summit in the Netherlands on 7-9 December.
"If the ban is maintained, bilateral relations will definitely be affected," Mr Zhang told reporters. "We think this is a kind of political discrimination."
He denied that lifting the ban would affect relations across the Taiwan strait.
China claims Taiwan is part of its territory and regularly threatens to use force against the island if it ever seeks formal independence.
Geopolitics
Germany and France have called for the arms ban to be lifted, while the US and some EU countries are in favour of it remaining in place.
Washington has threatened to stop the transfer of some sensitive military technology to European countries if it were to be abolished.
China pressed for the ban to be lifted at an Asia-Europe Meeting (Asem) in Hanoi in October, but was not successful.
It will also be on the agenda of a visit to China by German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder from Monday.
Fifteen years on from Tiananmen Square, when hundreds of unarmed protesters were killed by Chinese troops, there are continuing concerns among the international community about the country''s human rights record.
But analysts say the row is more about geopolitics and domestic economies than human rights.
The US is concerned that arms sold to China by the EU could be used against Taiwan asnd risk sucking the US into a regional conflict.
France and Germany, meanwhile, believe China could prove a fertile market for their arms and related industries.
weapons 武器
ban 禁止
Geopolitics 地缘政治学
中文翻译 >
中国再促欧盟解除军售禁令
有关对华军售问题仍然是一个敏感讨论点
再度促请欧洲联盟解除对中国实施了15年的武器禁运，称不解除禁令将影响双边关系，也等同于政治歧视。
欧盟是于1989年北京天安门“六四”事件发生后对中国实施军售禁令的。
德国总理施罗德下周一（12月6日）开始访华，以及中国国务院总理温家宝于12月7至9日到荷兰出席中国-欧盟高峰会期间，预料解除禁令将成为会面的议题。
中国外交部副部长张业遂对记者说：“如果维持禁令，双边关系肯定会受到影响。我们认为这是一种政治歧视。”
张业遂称有关的禁令已经“过时”，并指不应该把解除禁令与中国人权纪录和台湾问题挂钩。
他说，目前中国最大和最迫切的目标，就是进一步发展经济和进一步提高中国人民的生活水平。
张业遂补充说，中国无意从欧洲进口武器。他这样说是为了平息外界对中国将继续购买武器威胁台湾的疑虑。
对此，荷兰外交大臣伯纳·博特上月曾表示，欧盟25国准备于下周三（8日）在海牙召开的欧盟-中国高峰会期间给予“正面”的讯息。
对于有报道指如果欧盟不解除禁令，中国将不购买欧洲制造的空中客车（又称：空中巴士），张业遂予以否认。他说，中国是世界人口最多的国家正在发展旅游业，正需要更多的飞机。
德国和法国都支持解除对中国的军售禁令，以招徕更多的商机。
