The government has rejected suggestions that lifting the European Union's arms embargo on China will lead to a "flood" of exports.

Luxembourg, holders of the rotating EU presidency, are currently conducting a review of the embargo, which has been in place since the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989.

It is expected the EU will decide to lift the embargo, and Britain has already indicated its backing for the move.

However, in Commons exchanges on Tuesday Foreign Office ministers were warned that China still had a poor human rights record.

And the Conservatives expressed concern that a lifting of the embargo could damage relations with the US.

Responding to questions, minister Bill Rammell called for "clarity" on the issue.

He insisted that when the embargo is lifted it will not result in a rise in arms sales because such sales would continue to be covered by the EU's code of conduct.

Rammell said that "because we are aware of the concerns, we are reviewing the code of conduct to ensure it is as effective as we believe it should be".

He also told MPs that "arms sales which are refused under the embargo at the moment would not take place in a post-embargo situation".

Crazy

But shadow foreign secretary Michael Ancram warned it was "crazy" to anger the Americans by lifting the embargo.

He said lifting would "put at risk transatlantic co-operation and the sharing of military technology within NATO upon which our national security may well depend".

Responding, Rammell said he did not believe such co-operation would be at risk and pointed to "active" discussions with the Bush administration on the issue.

"I think part of the issue is that there isn't a sufficient understanding of the effectiveness of the code of conduct, that is the message we are communicating with our US colleagues at the moment," he added.

Ancram said it was "extraordinary" to say lifting the embargo would make no difference.

"Isn't it disingenuous to suggest that a non-enforceable code of conduct will in fact have very little effect in changing what is happening at the moment?" he asked.

And the Tory frontbencher warned the French wanted to sell technology to China.

"Is this not a classic example of this government's policy of surrender in Europe? They are prepared to put at risk our national security simply to curry favour with the French."

Rammell said the embargo "emphatically has no greater legal force, and arguably has less legal force, than the code of conduct".

And he said the Tory "obsession with anti-European hysteria" undermined their arguments.

There would be no "qualitative or quantitive" increase in arms sales, he pledged.

But backbench MP Lindsay Hoyle said there was "great concern" on the Labour benches about lifting the embargo.

And Liberal Democrat MP Jenny Tonge called for assurances that there would be no arms sales to countries that would use them for internal repression or external aggression.

"If he will give us that assurance, how can he possibly consider selling arms to China?" she asked.

Rammell said it was "simply not the case that by the lifting of the embargo we will suddenly see a flood of arms exports to China".