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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: J_F_Shepard who wrote (383069)	3/31/2003 4:42:52 PM
From: Techplayer	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 769670

For one, nuclear technology... Wednesday October 29 5:21 PM EST Clinton Approves Nuclear Sales to China WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Clinton Wednesday boosted the flagging U.S. nuclear industry and angered arms control advocates by authorizing sales of U.S. made atomic reactors to China at a summit with his Chinese counterpart. Clinton said he made the decision - which was expected - after being satisfied that China will not sell such technology to troublesome states like Iran. But officials did not publicly spell out the nature of those assurances that came during the summit with Chinese President Jiang Zemin, suggesting China has followed a familiar pattern of insisting only on making private pledges. "President Jiang and I agreed that the United States and China share a strong interest in stopping the spread of weapons of mass destruction and other sophisticated weaponry in unstable regions and rogue states, notably Iran," Clinton told a news conference. The assurances given for purposes of the nuclear agreement were "sufficiently explicit and clear" to comply with U.S. law and advance national security interests, he said. The decision could mean billions of dollars in new sales to U.S. firms like Westinghouse, ABB and General Electric, which lobbied vigorously for the right to sell to China. Clinton will implement the Peaceful Nuclear Cooperation Agreement signed with China in 1985 but never put into effect because of concerns about Beijing's proliferation record. Under U.S. law, the president must certify to Congress that China is not engaged in nuclear proliferation before the United States can sell China nuclear energy technology. Anticipating the decision, a debate had already erupted over whether China can be trusted not to pass the technology to problem states like Iran, which Washington accuses of sponsoring terrorism and trying to acquire a nuclear arsenal. Providing access to American technologies that could end up assisting Iran's nuclear weapons programs "would constitute an intolerable risk to U.S. national security," Reps. Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, Benjamin Gilman., a New York Republican, and Christopher Cox, a California Republican, said in a Washington Post essay Wednesday. China has "continually failed to live up to its promises," they complained. Democratic Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, a senior member of the Foreign Relations Committee, said China seemed minimally to meet U.S. requirements to qualify for reactor purchases. "President Jiang's public commitments and private assurances must be backed up by clear, unequivocal actions," specifically termination of all nuclear cooperation with Iran, Biden said in a statement. He warned that Congress will have a say in financing any nuclear projects by the Export-Import Bank and in granting export licenses. The United States has long complained about China's willingness to export sophisticated weapons and nuclear technology to troublesome countries, like Iran and Pakistan. But increasingly senior officials have argued that Beijing is building a markedly improved record of commitments and behavior, demonstrating a crucial new spirit of cooperation. Recently, China told U.S. officials it would stop selling anti-ship missiles to Iran that could threaten U.S. military ships in the Gulf region. China also agreed to halt future nuclear cooperation with Iran, officials said. But so far China itself has not made such pledges public. A joint statement issued at the summit commits China to work with the United States to bring the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty into force at the earliest date and to pursue early negotiations on a treaty banning fissile materials. The two countries reiterated a vow not to assist nuclear program that are not subject to international inspection. Unlike 20 years ago when it rejected international norms, China is now a signer of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), which all aim to stem the spread of arms. U.S. officials cite this as evidence China is becoming a more responsible member of the international community. ^REUTERS