IV 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 57 

Urging the European Union to maintain its arms embargo on the People’s 

Republic of China. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 1, 2005 

Mr. HYDE (for himself, Mr. LANTOS, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, and Mr. 

MCCOTTER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on International Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Urging the European Union to maintain its arms embargo 

on the People’s Republic of China. 

Whereas the United States and the European Union (EU) 

have maintained arms embargoes on the People’s Republic of China since 1989, following the decision of the Chinese Government on June 4, 1989, to order an 

unprovoked, brutal, and indiscriminate assault on thousands of peaceful and unarmed demonstrators and onlookers in and around Tiananmen Square by units of the 

People’s Liberation Army, which resulted in an untold 

number of deaths and several thousand injuries; 

Whereas the People’s Republic of China has yet to acknowledge and make amends for the 1989 massacre at 

Tiananmen Square and an estimated 2,000 Chinese citi-
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•HRES 57 IH 

zens remain in prison as a result of their participation 

in those peaceful demonstrations according to the Department of State’s Country Reports on Human Rights 

Practices for 2004; 

Whereas the National Security Strategy of the United States 

approved by President George W. Bush on September 17, 

2002, concludes that the People’s Republic of China remains strongly committed to national one-party rule by 

the Communist Party and is not truly accountable to the 

needs and aspirations of its citizens, while preventing the 

Chinese people to think, assemble, and worship freely; 

Whereas for several years the People’s Republic of China has 

also been engaged in an extensive military buildup in its 

air, naval, land, and outer space systems, including the 

deployment of approximately 500 short range ballistic 

missiles near the Taiwan Strait according to the Department of Defense’s Report on the Military Power of the 

People’s Republic of China for Fiscal Year 2004; 

Whereas the military buildup by the People’s Republic of 

China and the strategic doctrines and policies that underpin such a buildup remain shrouded in secrecy and imply 

challenges for strategic deterrence between the United 

States and China, United States Armed Forces deployed 

in the Asia and Pacific region, United States commitments and interests related to the defense of numerous 

friends and allies in the region, particularly Taiwan and 

Japan, and regional stability more broadly; 

Whereas the European Union and the People’s Republic of 

China released a joint statement on December 8, 2004, 

following their seventh summit meeting at The Hague in 

which the two sides recognized each other as ‘‘major strategic partners in the area of disarmament and non-pro-
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•HRES 57 IH 

liferation’’ and the EU confirmed its ‘‘political will to 

continue to work towards lifting the EU arms embargo 

against China’’; 

Whereas the European Union and the People’s Republic of 

China also released a joint declaration on non-proliferation and arms control on December 8, 2004, at The 

Hague in which the EU stated its support for China’s 

entry into the Missile Technology Control Regime 

(MTCR); 

Whereas on December 20, 2004, the Government of the 

United States determined that seven entities of the People’s Republic of China, including several entities that 

play major roles in China’s military-industrial complex, 

should be subject to sanctions under section 3 of the Iran 

Nonproliferation Act of 2000, which provides for penalties on entities for the transfer to Iran of certain controlled equipment and technology, reflecting a time span 

of more than a decade in which the United States Government has made repeated determinations regarding 

Chinese firms engaged in illicit transactions involving 

strategic technology; 

Whereas on December 17, 2004, the Council of the European 

Union ‘‘reaffirmed the political will to continue to work 

towards lifting the arms embargo’’ on the People’s Republic of China and invited the next Presidency of the 

EU ‘‘to finalize the well-advanced work in order to allow 

for a decision’’; 

Whereas the largest member states of the European Union— 

France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom—have 

steadily increased their arms sales to the People’s Republic of China, such that from 2002 to 2003 the value of 

reported arms sales to China doubled to approximately 
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•HRES 57 IH 

$540,000,000, according to the most recent annual report, dated November 11, 2004, of the EU on its Code 

of Conduct on Arms Exports; 

Whereas in order to assist member states of the European 

Union to close the gap in defense capabilities with the 

United States and to enhance the interoperability of the 

armed forces of such member states and United States 

Armed Forces, the United States has provided a framework in its laws, particularly under the Arms Export 

Control Act and chapters 138 and 139 of title 10, United 

States Code, in which the United States has pursued a 

policy of expanded transatlantic armament and defense 

industry cooperation involving increasingly sophisticated 

levels of sensitive United States military technology, 

which becomes subject to increased risks of diversion to 

the People’s Republic of China due to armaments cooperation between the EU and China; 

Whereas despite the chronically low defense spending of 

member states of the European Union, EU member 

states have decided to develop, with the participation of 

the People’s Republic of China, a new global radio navigational satellite system, known as Galileo, at a cost of 

more than $3,000,000,000, which will have military applications, even though such system purports to serve 

civil applications already served by the United States 

Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) System; and 

Whereas the United States has numerous national interests 

in the Asia and Pacific region, including the security of 

Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and other key areas, and 

United States Armed Forces which are deployed throughout the region could be jeopardized by the People’s Republic of China because it is increasingly well-armed and 
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may seek to settle long-standing territorial and political 

disputes in the region by the threat or use of military 

force: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) reaffirms the United States arms embargo 

3 on the People’s Republic of China and related find4 ings and statements of policy set forth in title IX of 

5 the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal 

6 Years 1990 and 1991 (Public Law 101–246); 

7 (2) finds that policies by the United States and 

8 other countries which promote the development of 

9 democracy in the People’s Republic of China, and 

10 not the development of Chinese military capabilities, 

11 will help assure a stable, peaceful, and prosperous 

12 Asia and Pacific region; 

13 (3) deplores the recent increase in arms sales 

14 by member states of the European Union (EU) to 

15 the People’s Republic of China and the European 

16 Council’s decision to finalize work toward lifting its 

17 arms embargo on China, actions that place Euro18 pean security policy in direct conflict with United 

19 States security interests and with the security inter20 ests of United States friends and allies in the Asia 

21 and Pacific region; 

22 (4) declares that such a development in Euro23 pean security policy is inherently inconsistent with 
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1 the concept of mutual security interests that lies at 

2 the heart of United States laws for transatlantic de3 fense cooperation at both the governmental and in4 dustrial levels and would necessitate limitations and 

5 constraints in these relationships that would be un6 welcome on both sides of the Atlantic; 

7 (5) requests the President in his forthcoming 

8 meetings with European leaders to urge that they 

9 reconsider this unwise course of action and, instead, 

10 work expeditiously to close any gaps in the Euro11 pean Union’s arms embargo on the People’s Repub12 lic of China, in the national export control systems 

13 of EU member states, and in the EU’s Code of Con14 duct on Arms Exports in order to prevent any future 

15 sale of arms or related technology to China; and 

16 (6) requests the President to inform Congress 

17 of the outcome of his discussions with European 

18 leaders on this subject and to keep Congress fully 

19 and currently informed of all developments in this 

20 regard. 

Æ