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Title:  "Solomon on China-Iran: 'Something Going On'." Speaking in testimony before a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee, State Department official Richard Solomon said that there is some evidence that China may be selling nuclear-related technologies to Iran. (911030)

Author:  MORSE, JANE A (USIA STAFF WRITER)
Date:  19911030

Text:
*EPF305

10/30/91 * SOLOMON ON CHINA-IRAN: "SOMETHING GOING ON" (Article on Solomon at SFRC hearing) (530) By Jane A. Morse USIA Staff Writer

Washington -- There is some evidence that the People's Republic of China may be selling nuclear technologies to Iran, according to Richard Solomon, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs.

"There appears there is sale of some nuclear-related technologies," Solomon said in response to questions at an October 30 hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs. "There does seem to be something going on here," he acknowledged. "We believe there is some form of nuclear cooperation between China and Iran," he said, but he refused to give more details in a public forum. The two-and-a-half-hour open hearing was followed immediately by an executive session.

During the open session, Solomon was grilled by senators regarding a Washington Post story which reported that Bush administration officials had concluded, based on intelligence reports, that China was indeed aiding Iran in an effort to produce nuclear weapons.

Emphasizing that he was not attempting to defend China on this issue, Solomon pointed out that previous press reports regarding China's sales of nuclear technologies to Algeria had been overblown. "In that particular case, the nuclear facility turned out to be less ominous, at least in its own terms, than had been originally feared. And the Algerians immediately put the facility under IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) inspection safeguards," he said.

China has been "somewhat, but not completely responsive" to U.S. requests for cooperation on nonproliferation, Solomon said in response to questions from Senator John F. Kerry (Democrat of Massachusetts), who expressed his exasperation that the United States was getting "precious little" from China. "There is evidence that the Chinese have shown restraint regarding missile sales that did not occur," Solomon said. Full cooperation would "take time," he said.

Solomon defended U.S. policy toward China, noting that any "dismantling" of the relationship -- such as dropping most favored nation status for China -- would weaken the platform for any constructive discussions that might lead to greater cooperation on a variety of issues.

GE 2 EPF305 The hearing was the first of a series Subcommittee Chairman Alan Cranston (Democrat of California) hopes to initiate in an attempt at "a thorough re-assessment" of U.S. bilateral relations in the Asia-Pacific region, with a focus on proliferation and trade.

The United States must assume a stronger leadership role on nonproliferation, Cranston said at the hearing. "The present regime is not working," he said.

Cranston suggested that APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) should broaden its agenda (currently limited to economic and some social issues) to consider political and security concerns. If this cannot be accomplished, "it is time to consider the creation of a Conference on Security and Cooperation in Asia," Cranston said.

"In Europe, the CSCE (Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe) process played a central role in its transformation," Cranston said. "It is time to begin a similar transformation in Asia where intra-regional developments are causing extra-regional problems, especially in the area of proliferation."

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