Once again the business community has called the shots in U.S.-China policy. This time President Clinton has folded on a matter of gravest concern: China's proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
One year ago U.S. nuclear manufacturers began lobbying the administration to ignore the truth about China's arms and technology sales abroad. President Clinton is acting on the word of the Chinese. This is the word of a regime which leaves a trail of broken promises on proliferation.
China's actions are in flagrant violation of its pledge to the world community made when it signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1992. Once again, President Clinton is caving into China's insistence on receiving U.S. nuclear technology on the basis of promises not performance.
President Clinton's statement that "China has lived up to its pledge not to assist unsafeguarded nuclear facilities in third countries" is in conflict with the CIA's assessment of China's proliferation record from July through December of 1996 and the Office of Naval Intelligence March 1997 report.
From the CIA's Assessment of China's Non-Proliferation Record, July - December 1996:
"During the last half of 1996, China was the most significant supplier of WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction)-related goods and technology to foreign countries. The Chinese provided a tremendous variety of assistance to both Iran's and Pakistan's ballistic missile programs. China also was the primary source of nuclear-related equipment and technology to Pakistan, and a key supplier to Iran during this reporting period. Iran also obtained considerable CW (Chemical Weapons)-related assistance from China in the form of production equipment and technology."
From the Office of Naval Intelligence, March 1997:
"Discoveries after the Gulf War clearly indicate that Iraq maintained an aggressive Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) procurement program. A similar situation exists today in Iran with a steady flow of materials and technologies from China to Iran. This exchange is one of the most active WMD programs in the Third World, and is taking place in a region of great strategic interest to the United States."
