The European Union has successfully fended off a Chinese diplomatic press to resume arms sales. The decision to delay is a good one: Beijing's claims of discrimination notwithstanding, East Asia does not need more weapons. Equally important is the rift such sales would engineer in the West: The prospect that European weapons might be used against U.S forces in a contingency involving Taiwan could seriously damage the Atlantic Alliance. Europe, along with other key suppliers, cut off arms sales to China after Beijing violently suppressed prodemocracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square in 1989. The embargo continues to this day, although the EU, along with the rest of the world, has endeavored to build stronger and deeper trading relations with China. Sensing that its image has been rehabilitated and opinion has shifted, Beijing has increased pressure on the EU to resume arms sales.

Premier Wen Jiabao had hoped that he would be rewarded during his recent European tour with a decision to lift the ban. He argued that the maturation of China's ties with the EU made the arms embargo a meaningless and dated artifact, "a remnant of the Cold War." Lifting it would provide a tangible symbol of Europe's readiness to move forward in the relationship. He was no doubt encouraged by French President Jacques Chirac's remark earlier this year that the ban "no longer corresponds to the political reality" and "makes no sense," a view that was seconded by German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. Mr. Wen may have also thought that European arms industries would push for a share of the $11 billion in arms agreements that China has signed since 1999.

Mr. Wen was disappointed. The EU agreed to work toward that end, but set no date for lifting the embargo, although Mr. Javier Solana, the high representative for the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy, mentioned a six-month time frame. Even then, an end to the embargo is not guaranteed, as last year the German Parliament and the EU Parliament both voted against lifting the ban. Neither vote was binding, but each demonstrated public concerns.