China Delays the Launch of Iridium Satellite Later This Year [contains additional info]
chinaonline.com
Douglas C. McGill
ChinaOnline News Editor
(3/15/99) The launch later this year of an Iridium satellite by
China's Long March 2-C rocket has been postponed for
"technical reasons," said Wang Liheng, vice general manager
of China Aviation Industry Corp., in a March 15 article in Hua
Sheng Bao (Hua Sheng Overseas Chinese Newspaper).
The delay was announced at a time of increasing tensions
between the U.S. and China, many of which stem from the
sale of U.S. satellite technology to China. Escalations in both
rhetoric and action have grown especially intense in the
weeks just prior to a visit to Washington in early April by
China's Premier Zhu Rongji.
On February 23, the Clinton administration rejected the sale
of a $450 million satellite owned by Hughes Space and
Communications to a business group with ties to China,
saying that the technology could be used for military
purposes that could threaten national security.
The Iridium launch would have been a critical step in the
development of a global wireless telecommunications system
and, eventually, a new age in wireless internet
communications.
By delaying the launch, China is effectively putting that next
step in the global Information Revolution on hold.
Yu Shulin, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in
Washington D.C., said he was aware of Iridium's lanch delay,
but would not comment on it directly. "The launching of
commerical satellites in China is routine business, and it's
beneficial to both sides." Iridium could not be reached for
comment.
Iridium is a Washington, D.C.-based company formed by 19
strategic investors worldwide, including many major
telecommunications companies. The most prominent of these
is Motorola Inc., which also plans to develop a global satellite
project through another company called Teledesic, which will
deliver high-speed internet access by 2003.
During his visit to Washington, Zhu plans to lobby hard for
China's membership in the World Trade Organization, a goal
China has sought for many years.
Strong Congressional opposition is building, however, and in
recent weeks China and the U.S. have traded strong rhetoric
over the issue. Last week, that debate reached a new level of
seriousness with the report that a Chinese spy had stolen
nuclear secrets from the Los Alamos National Laboratories in
the mid-1980's.
Opponents of China membership in the WTO say that until
problems like this are resolved, China should not be
considered a full member of the world trading and economic
community.
In the Hua Sheng Bao story, Wang also announced China's
plans to proceed with the launch later this year of six
satellites for weather forecasting, resource prospecting and
scientific experiment purposes in 1999. The package will
include a communication satellite made by the United States
to be launched by China's Long March 3-B rocket.
In the newspaper story, Wang also criticized the recent U.S.
government's veto of the Hughes satellite sale to the
Asia-Pacific Mobile Communication Satellite Corp. The ban
will hurt the business interests of both countries, he said, and
especially the interests of American companies.
The Asia-Pacific Mobile Communication Satellite Corp. is a
Singapore-registered company jointly invested by a few
companies in China and in other Asian countries and regions.
The China Aviation Industry Corp. and its subsidiaries have a
10% stake in the company.
Wang said it is natural for American companies to sell
satellites to Asia-Pacific countries or use Chinese satellites
to launch satellites. In recent years, the United States has
benefited more than China from U.S.-China cooperation in
satellite launching, Wang said.
If American companies are not allowed to enter the Asian
satellite market, which has great potential, they will suffer
huge losses by trying to force their way into the European
market, Wang said.
Wang denied that China obtained American technology
through the two countries' cooperation in satellite launching.
He said that once American satellites enter China, they are
under 24-hour close monitoring by American technicians and
security guards.
China "has no intention and has no possibility" to obtain
American technology, said Mr. Wang. China uses aerospace
technology in communication, broadcasting, weather
forecasting, resource prospecting and other non-military
areas, Wang said. He called the U.S. government
unreasonable in aborting the Hughes satellite deal under the
pretext of security issues.
To reach Douglas C. McGill:
P: (312) 335-8881
F: (312) 335-9299
E-mail: dmcgill@chinaonline.com
© ChinaOnline 1998.
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