(STRASBOURG) - The European Union should maintain its embargo on weapons sales to China as long as Beijing helps armed forces and groups involved in African conflicts, the EU parliament said Wednesday.

The MEPs adopted a parliamentary report highly critical of China's policy and its effects in Africa.

The report states that the embargo should remain in place "as long as China continues to export arms to armed forces and armed groups in countries, many of them in Africa, that fuels and perpetuates conflicts and perpetrate gross violations of human rights."

The vote came on the eve of trip to Beijing by European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso and amid relations tense following China's crackdown on Tibetan protesters and subsequent demonstrations during Olympic torch relays in London, Paris and elsewhere.

The EU parliamentary vote, with 618 MEPs in favour and just 16 against, also came the day after the US State Department said it had asked China to withdraw a cache of weapons destined for Zimbabwe and halt further arms shipments to the increasingly isolated African regime.

Western nations banned the sales of arms to Zimbabwe in 2002, though China has not.

The European deputies, meeting in Strasbourg, urged the EU to call on China "to suspend any arms trade deals with those governments that are responsible for human rights violations, are involved in conflicts or on the brink of war", such as Zimbabwe, Sudan, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia and Eritrea.

The MEPs also called for a ban on the transfer of weapons to armed non-governmental groups who are threatening human rights and stability in Africa.

The parliament urged the EU to encourage China to increase its involvement in United Nations and African Union peacekeeping missions, including sending combat troops in line with UN mandates.

The author of the parliamentary report, Socialist deputy Ana Gomes said the latest Chinese arms shipment to Zimbabwe "is a very good example of China's repeated interference in the internal affairs of African nations".

Her report accuses of China of making "most of its investments without laying down any particular conditions" to some of the most oppressive African regimes.

"Such investment in countries suffering from bad governance by oppressive regimes helps perpetuate human rights abuses," the MEPs agreed.

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