Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (file photo)

Chinese officials say during Premier Wen Jiabao's upcoming trip to Europe, he will ask the European Union to lift its ban on weapons sales to China.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry official, Li Ruiyu, said Wednesday that Mr. Wen would repeat a long-time call for the ban to be lifted during meetings in Finland, Britain and Germany.

The restrictions were imposed following China's 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square. Beijing has long asked for the ban to be lifted.

The Chinese premier departs for Helsinki, Finland, Saturday to attend the annual Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). His European tour ends September 14.

Some information for this report was provided by Reuters.