U.S., with lawmakers on its side and European Parliament support, is likely to counter Franco-German attempts to end the EU 15-year prohibition on weapon sale to China.

«European lawmakers and the U.S. have a very broad common understanding about keeping the embargo in place,’’ said the chairman of the EU parliament’s foreign affairs committee Elmar Brok at a press conference with Zoellick today in Brussels.

The embargo on the sale of weapons to China was set after the events on the Tiananmen Square in Beijing 1989, when the military tanks drove into the teenagers, who were participating in a demonstration for democracy. But recently the Chinese jails released a couple of political prisoners, and the EU decided to quit the embargo. This turns out to be really unfavorable for the US economy, and U.S. President George W. Bush does his best in order to prevent the EU decision.

Moreover, China promised that it will lead troops in Taiwan if it dares to announces independence, and the EU is facing a dilemma concerning what to do with this embargo on weapon sales.