Beijing has criticized the European Parliament's decision to maintain an arms sales embargo against China until the country improves its human rights record.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Zhang Qiyue, said the embargo is a Cold War relic that strains relations between China and the European Union. She says China has made progress in human rights in recent years.
The European Parliament resolution, approved Wednesday, said the arms sale embargo should continue until China takes concrete steps to improve human rights.
The European Union imposed the embargo in 1989 after China's violent crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
Some information for this story provided by AFP.
