The International Herald Tribune reports:
Prime Minister Tony Blair put human rights concerns along with ambitions to expand trade on the agenda for his meeting Wednesday with President Hu Jintao of China.
“We will raise our concerns with them,” said Tom Kelly, a spokesman for Blair. “It’s best to deal with these matters in private rather than grandstanding, but it’s an element in our relationship.”
China has been lobbying the European Union to lift its ban on weapons sales. The British ambassador to China, Christopher Hum, said Sept. 2 that China must set a timetable to sign the international covenant on human rights before the EU will lift the ban.
