Brussels, 06/02/2006 (Agence Europe) - The EU-China ministerial meeting, which was held in Vienna on 3 February, was given over mainly to preparations for a new "modern" bilateral partnership and cooperation agreement, which will "replace a trade agreement which is more than 20 years old" and " reflect the entire scope of cooperation between China and the Union", Ursula Plassnik, Austrian Minister for foreign affairs and President of the Council of the EU, explained after the meeting. This cooperation exists not only on external policy issues (North Korea, Iran and Afghanistan), but also in the field of science and technology, and the fight against infectious diseases. At political level, Ms Plassnik and her opposite number Li Zhaoxing discussed such issues as the embargo on arms sales to China, pointing out that although the Council of the Union is still working on the code of conduct relating to controls on the weapons exports of the Union, there is still no consensus between the Member States on lifting the embargo, which is still not on the agenda. On the issue of Taiwan, Ms Plassnik repeated the position of the Union, which remains committed to a peaceful solution to the conflict between Beijing and Taipei. In this context, the Austrian Minister spoke out against "the recent remarks by Taiwanese President Chen Shui Bian", which "get the progress of bilateral relations" between China and Taiwan "off to a bad start" and "increase the tension". Ms Plassnik also brought up the human rights situation in China, welcoming the fact that they were able to "have a frank discussion" of subjects on which the Europeans and the Chinese have "different approaches". Ms Plassnik went on to tell the Chinese authorities that the Union welcomed the "progress already made", but indicated that it was hoping to see "further progress", particularly with relation to the liberation of all political prisoners held since 1989 and the ratification of the Convention on civil and political rights.