By Mike Nartker
Global Security Newswire

WASHINGTON — A senior U.S. official last week called on China to improve its nonproliferation efforts, and in particular to curb its ballistic missile exports.  Citing such exports as the “most significant proliferation concern” the United States has with China, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Verification and Compliance Paula DeSutter said, “The government of China has not done enough to ensure that all Chinese entities abide by the nonproliferation commitments the Chinese government has made” (see GSN, July 3).

During a hearing of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, DeSutter outlined China’s efforts to stem WMD and ballistic missile proliferation, as well as continuing U.S. concerns.  China is of particular concern to the United States because of its advanced technological capabilities, DeSutter said.

“While there are many buyers in the market for WMD and missiles, there are only a handful of states with the capability to be dealers in that market,” DeSutter told the commission.  “China’s sophistication with many of these technologies has made it possible for Chinese entities to become key exporters of WMD and missile technology,” she said.

Missile Proliferation

In August 2002, China released its missile export control list, a move that came as a “significant and welcome step,” DeSutter said (see GSN, Sept. 3, 2002).  She added, however, that the United States has several concerns about remaining deficiencies in China’s missile export control system.  For example, the Chinese control list is not as comprehensive as the annex of the Missile Technology Control Regime, which seeks to reduce missile proliferation by establishing common export-control regulations among members.  In addition, DeSutter said, the Chinese regulations do not prohibit the export of complete missile-production facilities, as does the MTCR.

The United States is also concerned with China’s implementation of its missile-related export regulations, DeSutter said.  China is apparently not enforcing controls at its borders, allowing illegal transfers to go undetected, she said.  China also lacks an effective end-use verification system to ensure that legitimate transfers are not diverted, DeSutter said, adding that effective implementation could be a field of cooperation between Beijing and Washington.

China has not done enough to crack down on so-called “serial proliferators” — those Chinese entities that have a record of proliferation activities, DeSutter said.  One such entity is the North China Industries Corp. (Norinco), which the United States has sanctioned several times for alleged exports of missile technologies to Iran, she said.

“For some time, we have been alerting the Chinese government to our concerns about the activities of Norinco,” DeSutter said.  “Nonetheless, the Chinese government appears to have taken no action to halt Norinco’s proliferant behavior,” she added.

Underscoring the various U.S. concerns with China’s attempts to prevent missile proliferation is a concern that China does not take the issue seriously, according to DeSutter.

“The Chinese government appears to view missile nonproliferation, at least in part, not as a goal in and of itself, but as an issue that needs merely to be managed as part of its overall bilateral relationship with the United States,” she said.

WMD Proliferation

The United States also has concerns regarding China’s WMD nonproliferation efforts, according to DeSutter. 

There is concern that Beijing has joined international nuclear nonproliferation regimes in such a way as to allow it to continue to “lawfully circumvent” those regimes’ intentions, DeSutter said.  For example, while China has joined the Zangger Committee, it has not joined the Nuclear Suppliers Group — a “significant” distinction, since this allows China to continue to export nuclear-related items to safeguarded nuclear facilities in countries of concern, such as Pakistan, she said.

Concerning chemical weapons, the United States believes that China has both not revealed the full extent of its chemical weapons program and that it possesses a “moderate inventory” of chemical weapons agents, DeSutter said (see GSN, Oct. 21, 2002).  She said the United States plans to soon discuss with China a proposal, developed by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, to increase industrial inspections at facilities that produce chemicals not directly covered by the Chemical Weapons Convention.

In addition, there is also concern that China has maintained a biological weapons program despite its membership in the Biological Weapons Convention, according to DeSutter (see GSN, Oct. 18, 2002).

“The United States believes that China’s consistent claims that it has never researched, produced or possessed BW [biological weapons] are simply not true,” she said.

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