US: China is observing arms control deals

State department denies newspaper reports

In this story:

• From tough talk to encouraging words
• Improved dialogue
• Missile tests mar relations
• Related stories and sites

October 9, 1996
Web posted at: 8:30 p.m. EDT (0030 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The United States praised China's recent progress in arms control and denied a newspaper report that Beijing improperly sold nuclear weapons-related technology to Pakistan.

At issue is whether China violated an agreement it made on May 11 not to transfer nuclear technology to facilities not subject to international inspection.

Citing leaked intelligence documents, the Washington Times reported Wednesday that last month China sold Pakistan an industrial furnace and other equipment, in violation of existing agreements.

But State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns denied violations took place, and John Holum, director of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, said Wednesday in a separate interview that China's arms control policies "have evolved in a very constructive direction."

From tough talk to encouraging words

The encouraging words for China follow tough talk of sanctions from Washington earlier this year. The U.S. concluded in May that ring magnets, which can be used to enrich uranium, were exported from China to Pakistan in violation of non-proliferation agreements.

The findings raised concerns that China could help Islamabad in its quest to make a nuclear bomb.

Washington did not level sanctions after China said the transfer occurred without the knowledge of senior officials and it assured the United States it will abide by the nuclear weapons non-proliferation treaty.

A senior United States official suggested that the industrial furnace cited by the Washington Times and other equipment may have been transferred from China to Pakistan before May 11.

Last week on CNN, Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto denied reports that Pakistan has a nuclear weapon. (16 sec. /192K AIFF or WAV sound)

Improved dialogue

The improved rapport between the United States and China comes as the two countries are once again beginning an arms control dialogue.

Holum, on the third day of a five-day visit to China, said at a Beijing news conference that "China genuinely has been playing a much more active and very constructive role in arms control negotiations."

But he cited Beijing's arms exports to Iran as a continued problem for the United States.

As evidence of China's improved arms control stance, he cited Beijing's role in negotiations towards a global nuclear test ban and for a cutoff of production of nuclear fissile material.

Holum's meetings with Chinese officials are part of a series of high-level talks intended to buttress Sino-U.S. ties, chilled by a 1995 visit to the United States by Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui and by disputes over copyright, trade and human rights.

Missile tests mar relations

Cross-Pacific relations hit a new low last March when China carried out missile tests and military exercises in the seas near Taiwan, which Beijing considers a rebel province, prompting Washington to send two aircraft carriers to the area.

A July visit to Beijing by National Security Adviser Anthony Lake was seen by analysts as a vital step to restoring some sense of stability to a vital diplomatic relationship.

The Sino-U.S. disputes had restricted talks on arms control and proliferation issues, Holum told reporters.

"We've obviously had an interruption of our dialogue in these areas as a result of the Lee visit and the missile activities and so on," he said. "We are starting to get past that and to renew the strategic dialogue."

Talks with Vice Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing and other officials touched on alleged sales of Chinese missile technology to Pakistan and Beijing's civil nuclear cooperation with Iran, he added.

The United States imposed sanctions on China and Pakistan in August 1993 over transfers of missile technology. Sanctions were lifted in October 1994, after China pledged to respect missile controls.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Related stories:

• U.S. in a diplomatic hard place in dealing with Afghanistan's Taliban - October 8, 1996
• Bhutto denies Pakistan has a nuclear weapon - October 5, 1996
• Who are the Taleban of Afghanistan? - October 5, 1996

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• China Today
• US State Department
• Pakistan Links Page

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