China denies military expansion 'inevitable'

By Andrea Koppel
CNN Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A Chinese diplomat has said "it's only natural" that Beijing would modernize its military, regardless of whether the United States moves ahead with construction of its missile defense system.

The diplomat's comments to reporters expanded on remarks made in Beijing in response to the Bush administration's recent assertion that China would be expanding its small ballistic missile arsenal irrespective of Washington's plans for its missile defense system.

The modernization, the Chinese diplomat said, is "different from a huge expansion of [China's] missile force."

Experts say China's arsenal includes less than two dozen ICBMs, or intercontinental ballistic missiles, capable of reaching the United States. China has argued a U.S. defense shield would "neutralize" that arsenal.

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China also maintains that its military is decades behind the United States, Russia and others, and that it "can't rely on weapons built in the '50s."

National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said in an interview this week, "We do not believe that there is any reason for the Chinese to build up their nuclear forces, but their modernization has been under way for some time."

Other senior State Department officials have told CNN that it is "no secret" China is modernizing its missile arsenal. China disputes the degree to which the administration has portrayed China's modernization as "inevitable."

The Chinese diplomat said there are two categories of modernization, and "people tend to confuse the two." One is that China needs to update outdated equipment; the other is an intense and rapid expansion.

He said China is concerned about a missile defense shield for two reasons: the "implication for international security" and that it is "going to touch off an arms race" of offensive and defensive weapons systems.

The official likened China's weapons modernization as similar to updating an outdated wardrobe.

China is worried that U.S. plans for a missile defense system could spark off an arms race

He said the modernization goes "hand-in-hand" with the ongoing modernization of the Chinese economy as it moves further away from its socialist roots and further embraces "capitalist" market forces.

On a related subject, the diplomat denied U.S. accusations that the China Metallurgical Equipment Corp., sanctioned over the weekend by the United States, sold missile parts or related technologies to Pakistan in recent months.

"We believe it's ungrounded, unfounded," he said.

The official said China based its conclusion on the results of its own investigation into this company's activities between February 1999 and July 2001, "scrutinizing" all bills of lading for every deal with Pakistan.

China says it has asked the Bush administration to provide it with "hard evidence" of its claims, but it says Washington's response has been to cite "intelligence sources" without providing any facts.

China did find the company received some requests from Pakistan for equipment that if sold would have violated the arms export agreement, the official said. China says the request was "turned down, rejected outright."

"We were angry, we were stunned," the official said when China learned the United States planned to level specific sanctions against the company. Since the sanctions went into effect last weekend, China has urged the Washington to rescind what Beijing insists was an "erroneous" decision.

This official warned the sanctions would be "harmful" to improving the atmosphere between the United States and China, but he admitted the dispute would not overshadow President Bush's trip to China next month.

China's goal, he said, is to "ensure a smooth trip."

Bush is scheduled to meet with China President Jiang Zemin in October at the meeting of the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation conference, of which China is the host this year.