China has warned the EU that it risks damaging bilateral ties unless it lifts a 15-year embargo on selling arms to Beijing.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui said the ban, imposed after the 1989 crackdown on protesters in Tiananmen Square, was "outdated".
Mr Zhang also denied that lifting it would fuel an arms race with Taiwan.
The ban is expected to be discussed at a China-EU summit in the Netherlands on 7-9 December.
"If the ban is maintained, bilateral relations will definitely be affected," Mr Zhang told reporters. "We think this is a kind of political discrimination."
