European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said on Wednesday that maintaining the EU ban on sales of arms to China is "unfair" as the situation has changed since its imposition in 1989.

"It is not justified to maintain it (the embargo)," Solana told reporters as he arrived for an EU summit, which opened Tuesday in Brussels.

Solana said China is making progress on human rights, calling attention to the US decision this year not to present a resolution on human rights against China at the current session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.

"Things are moving (on human rights)," he said, noting the EU conducts a regular dialogue with China on the subject.

Solana said the 25-nation bloc was still assessing the issue but was moving toward "a political decision to end a situation that we think is unfair to maintain sanctions against China."

The European Union, keen to boost trade and diplomatic ties with China, agreed in principle last December to lift the ban by the end of June. The United States is bitterly opposed to the plan, saying it would exacerbate tensions in the Taiwan Straits.

Some media have reported that under mounting pressure from the United States, the EU may put off plans to lift the embargo until next year.

(Xinhua News Agency March 24, 2005)