Tracking Number: 387579
Title: "US-China Agree on Shared Responsibility for Proliferation." Secretary of State Warren Christopher and Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen agreed that their nations share
responsibility for dealing with the problem of nuclear proliferation. (950417)
Translated Title: ; EU-China acuerdan compartar responsabilidad proliferacion nuclear. (950417)
Author: PORTH, JACQUELYN S
(USIA STAFF WRITER)
Date: 19950417
Text:
U.S.-CHINA AGREE ON SHARED RESPONSIBILITY FOR PROLIFERATION
(NPT: U.S. opposes nuclear cooperation with Iran) (850)
By Jacquelyn Porth
USIA Security Affairs Writer
New York -- Secretary of State Christopher and Chinese Foreign Minister Qian
Quichen, who met April 17 in New York to discuss a very broad agenda of
security and political issues, agreed that their nations share
"responsibility" for dealing with the world's nuclear proliferation
problems, a U.S. official said.
Christopher also stressed U.S. opposition to "all nuclear cooperation with Iran," the official said, and told the Chinese foreign minister that the United States is not singling out China in expressing its concern about a possible Chinese-Iranian nuclear deal; he said it is concerned with a Russian-Iranian deal as well.
While the proposed Chinese transfer of nuclear technology to Iran would not violate Chinese obligations under the 1968 nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the official said Christopher asked the Chinese to refrain from making the transfer because the United States believes Iran is seeking nuclear weapons. To emphasize the point, he said, the United States has asked the Chinese to study written intelligence information similar to information it has provided the Russians about Iranian nuclear intentions.
Rather than reacting to the U.S. position, the official indicated, the Chinese were "in a listening mode." At the same time, he said the Chinese understand "the strength of our concern" regarding any nation's nuclear cooperation with Iran, which is based on having seen evidence of Iranian efforts to procure equipment and technology aimed at producing fissile materials.
The Iranians "seem to be seeking to acquire capabilities that have no other rational justification than the acquisition of the ability to acquire nuclear weapons," the official noted, although he said the Chinese have pointed out that their cooperation with Iran would be "solely for peaceful purposes" and would be conducted under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards.
The U.S. official, who briefed reporters following the bilateral meeting, described the U.S.-Chinese discussion on nuclear non-proliferation as "very positive," with the Chinese foreign minister expressing the need to have a successful outcome of the NPT review and extension conference, which opened later in the day at the United Nations. The official said the Chinese gave no indication of how they plan to vote on NPT extension, although their public position will be unveiled on April 18 when Qian addresses the conference.
The United States has been seeking indefinite extension of the 1968 NPT agreement, although other nations have sought to have the treaty extended for a fixed period or fixed periods.
Following a "wide-ranging discussion" on non-proliferation issues, the official said the United States and China agreed to hold regular consultations on arms control, non-proliferation and related security matters. They also agreed to hold expert-level discussions aimed at finding a way to overcome past impediments to peaceful nuclear cooperation.
He also said expert discussions will be scheduled "soon" on missile non-proliferation issues. The United States has proposed opening a dialogue with the Chinese on how to establish a "competent" export control system, the official said, and the Chinese have agreed.
Despite plans to hold three consultations, the official said "a lot of unfinished business" remains on the non-proliferation agenda between the two countries.
Much of the U.S.-Chinese meeting focused on U.S. concerns about North Korea, the official said. He said both sides agreed that the April 21 deadline should not be viewed as "fixed," that the nuclear freeze should not be broken, and that there must be a North-South dialogue in order to implement the nuclear framework agreement and "to settle the future of the peninsula."
On the broader agenda, the official indicated that both the U.S. and Chinese sides acknowledged that there have been "some differences and difficulties" in their relationship but also believed that some progress has been made in recent months and that there is a sense that "momentum has been maintained in the relationship."
Other issues addressed during the U.S.-Chinese meeting included a lengthy discussion of human rights, including the treatment of Chinese dissidents and Red Cross visits to Chinese prisons. Christopher expressed hope in the meeting that the Chinese would talk to the Dalai Lama "without preconditions" about Tibet. The official said China's record on human rights continues to be an "impediment to the full flowering" of the U.S.-Chinese relationship.
The September women's conference in Beijing was discussed, with Christopher expressing the U.S. hope that non-governmental organizations will have "fair access" to the proceedings, the briefer said. The secretary of state also welcomed China's accession to the World Trade Organization, while indicating that it would have to be on commercially acceptable grounds.
Christopher and Qian also discussed the disputed Spratly Islands, with Christopher expressing concern about the issue of freedom of navigation and noting U.S. opposition to using force to settle conflicting claims to the territory. The briefer said the secretary of state indicated U.S. opposition to further construction.
NNNN
File Identification: 04/17/95, POL103; 04/17/95, EUR105; 04/17/95, NEA106; 04/18/95, AEF204; 04/18/95, LEF203; 04/18/95, EPF204; 04/18/95, NAA204; 04/19/95, LSI303; 04/19/95, ERF307
Product Name: Wireless
File
Product Code: WF
Languages: Arabic; Spanish; Russian
Keywords: CHINA-US RELATIONS; NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION; NUCLEAR WEAPONS; CHRISTOPHER, WARREN/East Asia & Pacific; QIAN QICHEN;
CHINA-IRAN RELATIONS
Thematic Codes: 1AC
Target Areas: EU; NE; AF; AR; EA
PDQ Text Link: 387579; 387852
USIA Notes: *95041703.POL
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