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Beijing seeks WMD curbs
By CNN Senior China Analyst Willy Wo-Lap Lam
(CNN) -- Beijing has reiterated its pledge to stop the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, which will be a major theme at the upcoming summit between Presidents Jiang Zemin and George W. Bush to be held at Crawford, Texas. In return for a firm commitment on non-proliferation, the Chinese side hopes the Bush administration will lift some sanctions on the transfer of high technology to China. Chinese Ambassador for Disarmament Hu Xiaodi said in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly that the fight against terrorism had added new urgency to global efforts in non-proliferation. Largely bending to U.S. pressure, Beijing in August published for the first time a set of regulations on export control of missiles and missile-related items and technologies. American intelligence has asserted that Chinese state corporations have in recent years continued to ship missile- or nuclear-related technology to countries including Pakistan, Iran, and Syria. The official Xinhuanet on Wednesday quoted Hu as saying that after promulgating the regulations in August, Beijing would "establish a comprehensive system of export controls over sensitive items covering the nuclear, biological, chemical and missile fields." And the official China News Service quoted Hu as adding Beijing would shortly unveil export control regulations governing chemicals and related equipment and technology, as well as similar regulations governing biological substances and related equipment and technology. So far, however, no major state corporations have been penalized. Crackdown
Diplomatic sources in Beijing and Washington said the Jiang team would present to Bush and his aides evidence that Chinese authorities had recently cracked down on companies that had flouted the tough new regulations on proliferation. The Chinese president will lobby for at least the selective lifting of the bans on hi-tech transfers to China, which were first imposed after the Tiananmen Square massacre. Jiang is also expected to point out that little can be done to curtail the massive trade deficit in China's favor unless it can import more hi-tech items from the U.S. An American source said, however, that given the People's Liberation Army's aggressive arms modernization program -- and its ability to import weapons from Russia -- it is most unlikely Washington will start supplying China with military-related parts or know-how. While touring France last week, Premier Zhu Rongji also made a big pitch to the European Union to lift the relevant embargoes and start selling weapons to China. However, the French government has only indicated it will promote technological cooperation with the Chinese in areas such as aerospace and the environment.
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