BRUSSELS, Belgium - President Bush, working to cement an era of stronger U.S.-European relations after the divisiveness of Iraq, hailed NATO's modest pledge to help train security forces there today, saying "every contribution helps."

"The NATO training mission is an important mission, because after all, the success of Iraq depends upon the capacity and the willingness of the Iraqis to defend their own selves against terrorists," Bush said during a news conference at NATO headquarters here.

Bush also reiterated U.S. opposition to Europe's plans to lift its 15-year arms embargo against China. Bush said the United States fears that lifting the ban would upset the balance in the Asian region.

"There is deep concern in our country that a transfer of weapons will be a transfer of technology, that it will change the balance of relations between China and Taiwan," Bush said.

He said he understands that the Europeans are working on a way to embrace U.S. concerns about allowing China to modernize its military with arms and communications, intelligence and surveillance equipment that would give Beijing an edge over Taiwan.

"They know the Congress is concerned," Bush said. "And so they'll try to develop a plan that will ease concerns. Now, whether they can or not, we'll see."

In Beijing today, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan said that abolishing the "erroneous and outdated measure" would help move forward China-EU relations. "We hope the U.S. side will follow the trend set by China-Europe relations instead of setting any obstacles to this process," he said.

NATO has been struggling for months to get a commitment from all allies to join the mission in Iraq.

The development of a reliable Iraqi security force, so that Iraqis can handle their own security, is considered vital to lowering the U.S. troop presence there. Army Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, the general in charge of training Iraqi troops, has said that about 136,000 Iraqi military, police and national guard members have bee n trained and equipped - fewer than half the ultimate goal of a force of about 270,000.

NATO's secretary general said all members of the alliance would help train Iraq's military. "All 26 allies are working together to respond to the Iraqi government's request for support by training Iraqi security forces, providing equipment and helping to fund NATO's efforts," Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said.

The United States and Britain have shouldered the heaviest burden of fighting the war in Iraq. Still, Bush said, "Twenty-six nations sitting around that table said it's important for NATO to be involved in Iraq - that's a strong statement."

The president said the assistance is more than a symbolic gesture designed to symbolize the end to bitter divisions wrought by the war.

However, in a sign of lingering differences, France, Germany and other opponents of the war will not send instructors to Iraq, limiting their contribution to training outside the country or funding for the operation.

The mission comprises just over 100 instructors training senior Iraqi officers in Baghdad's heavily protected "Green Zone." More than half the NATO instructors are American.

Alliance planners hope to expand that operation to 160 instructors, which they say is adequate for the current phase of the mission. They hope for a further expansion in September to allow NATO to help run a military academy outside the Iraqi capital - if it can find the troops and money needed.

NATO officials said France was the last to come on board and will contribute just one officer to help coordination at NATO's military headquarters in southern Belgium. But France has separately offered to train 1,500 Iraqi military police in Qatar and play a lead role in European Union efforts to train Iraqi judicial officials.

"In Iraq, France wants to contribute to stability," Chirac told the meeting.

NATO officials said allies had also put up more than $4.55 million for a trust fund to cover transport and expenses of Iraqi officers traveling to NATO training posts outside the country. Allied nations will cover their own costs for training inside and outside the country.

"The Iraqis have defied the terrorists and showed the world they want to live in a free society, and we're there to help them achieve that," said Bush, who is holding back-to-back summits with NATO and the European Union.

After a meeting with Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said: "Whatever the differences in the international community have been over the past couple of years, I think we have a really solid basis now for going forward in a unified way." He added that it's possible to see a future in which Iraq will become a stable and prosperous democratic state.

The alliance also was expected to emphasize its engagement in Afghanistan and may discuss an eventual NATO role in the Middle East if Israel and the Palestinians reach a peace accord.

Blair said that Bush's speech in Brussels on Monday, outlining specific steps for resolving conflict in the Middle East, helped provide a new impetus for reaching a settlement.

Bush also met here with Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi and Viktor Yushchenko, the new, Westward-leaning president of Ukraine. However, Yushchenko is the only non-alliance leader invited to the NATO summit, said that withdrawing Ukraine's 1,600 troops from Iraq is topping the agenda for his country's cash-starved military.