Washington to Sanction China, Pakistan for Missile Cooperation
The Bush administration announced September 1 that it will levy
sanctions on a Chinese company for shipping missile equipment to
a Pakistani firm in violation of a pledge Beijing made last November.
China’s privately owned Metallurgical Equipment Corporation
will be sanctioned for selling missile components covered by the
Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) to Pakistan’s state-owned
National Development Complex, which will also be sanctioned. The
MTCR is a voluntary regime of 33 states that restricts exports of
missiles (and their components) capable of carrying a 500-kilogram
payload at least 300 kilometers. China is not a member of the MTCR
but agreed last year to adhere to its guidelines. (See ACT,
December 2000.)
Effective for two years, the sanctions, which are mandatory under
U.S. law but can be waived by the president, will prohibit U.S.
entities from transferring a variety of missile- and space-technology-related
equipment to the two firms. However, they will have little effect
against the Pakistani firm, which has been under U.S. sanctions
since 1998.
Chinese missile transfers have long been a cause of concern to
Washington, but in November 2000, the two countries reached an agreement
under which China pledged that it would not help states develop
“ballistic missiles that can be used to deliver nuclear weapons.”
Although the Chinese statement did not mention the MTCR, the document
defined nuclear-capable missiles as those that can deliver a 500-kilogram
payload 300 kilometers, the same limits outlined in the MTCR.
In exchange for the pledge, the United States agreed to resume
processing U.S. companies’ applications to use Chinese space-launch
providers. According to an administration official, the application
process had been suspended in February 2000 to pressure China to
stem its missile exports.
But the United States has challenged Chinese adherence to the pledge,
and Secretary of State Colin Powell raised the issue with Chinese
leaders July 28 during a trip to Beijing. Days earlier, Powell had
characterized Beijing’s recent record on missile export controls
as “mixed.”
On August 23, the topic was taken up again at expert-level talks
held between the United States and China, but the day after the
August meeting, China’s foreign ministry spokesman maintained
that “the relevant policies have been carried out to the letters,”
signaling that the sides continued to differ on whether China had
been continuing its missile exports.
Although an administration official denied that the late August
talks and sanctions are linked, it appears likely that an agreement
might have allowed the administration to waive the sanctions. At
an August 6 press briefing, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher
had said that imposing sanctions on China “is certainly not
our preferred course, although we would certainly follow U.S. law
if it came to that.” He had added that the administration would
like to see China abide by the November 2000 agreement and effectively
implement new export controls.
Despite levying the sanctions, the United States plans to continue
consulting with China on the issue. At an August 23 briefing after
the experts’ meeting, State Department spokesman Phillip Reeker
said that the administration “will need to do additional work
to clarify China’s willingness to implement fully the terms
of the November 2000 missile agreement.” No additional talks
specifically on this matter have yet been scheduled, but Chinese
Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan will visit Washington in September
and may take up the subject.
Recent allegations charging China with transferring missile components
to Pakistan first surfaced July 27 in The Washington Post. Citing
diplomatic sources, the newspaper said the Bush administration had
lodged a “formal protest” with China for continued missile-related
exports throughout 2001.
Citing “intelligence officials,” an August 6 Washington
Times report then claimed China had supplied missile components
for Pakistan’s 750-kilometer Shaheen-1 and 2,000-kilometer
Shaheen-2 ballistic missiles. The paper said 12 transfers of missile
technology had taken place between the two countries since the beginning
of 2001.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson blasted The Washington
Times August 9, saying that such “intelligence” was “fabricated
out of thin air in an attempt to exert pressure on other countries.”
The spokesperson also reiterated China’s commitment to implementing
the November 2000 agreement with a “serious, earnest and responsible
approach.”
Responding to the sanctions, the Pakistani foreign ministry released
a statement on September 3 calling the move “regrettable and
without any justification,” and Pakistan’s foreign secretary,
Inam-ul Haque, said that there had been no transfer of missile technology
from China to Pakistan “in recent years” during an August
17 speech in Washington.
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