"The EU continues to work on lifting the arms embargo on China. But Beijing's anti-secession law raises reservations among us," Solana said in the interview with the German daily Bild am Sonntag.

"The threat of the use of non-peaceful means to resolve the Taiwan issue contradicts the European position, that is the policy of one-China must be pursued only through dialogue," he added.

"On human rights, dialogue between Europe and China is evolving in a positive way. But we must without doubt see even more concrete progress on the ground," he added.

EU members are divided over the lifting of the embargo in the face of opposition from Washington. France and Germany openly support it while Britain, Sweden, Belgium and Italy are opposed in various degrees.

The controversial anti-secession law, passed by the Chinese parliament March 14, authorises the use of military force against Taiwan if the island moves toward formal independence.

Although Taiwan has been ruled as a de facto independent state since 1949, China considers the island part of its territory that must at some stage be brought back under its control, by force if necessary.

Taiwan authorities have slammed the law as tantamount to issuing the Chinese military a blank check to invade the island, leaving people in constant fear of war.

The EU arms ban was slapped on China after the 1989 massacre of pro-democracy students in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.

In its place the EU plans to beef up a self-imposed code of conduct on arms sales, as well as refining an "tool box" of other measures it claims will ensure that no potentially inappropriate hardware is sold to China.

All rights reserved. � 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.