AP, BEIJING (AP) – China revealed in unusual detail Wednesday its methods of preventing dangerous weapons from falling into the wrong hands, outlining its approach to nonproliferation just days before its prime minister visits Washington.
At the same time, the Beijing government chided the United States' actions to root out such weapons, saying “unilateralism and double standards must be abandoned,” an allusion to pre-emptive U.S. military action in Iraq earlier this year, which China opposed.
The comments, in a “white paper” on nonproliferation, dovetailed with a major theme of the Communist government's foreign policy in recent years, to establish China as a respectable, responsible country that will follow international rules.
The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, China said, benefits no one, particularly China itself.
“A developing China needs both an international and a peripheral environment of long-term peace and stability,” the report said. “The proliferation of WMD and their means of delivery benefits neither world peace and stability nor China's own security.”
It said it had made sure an array of procedures and penalties was in place to prevent companies from transferring technology or materials that could be made into chemical, biological or nuclear weapons. “No licence, no exports,” the report said.
China detailed government agencies responsible for monitoring technology exports that could be used for weapons. The agency-by-agency citations create a higher possibility of accountability in a government notorious for years for its administrative opacity.
The report made no specific mention of North Korea, China's neighbour and Communist ally, which is embroiled in a dispute with the United States over its nuclear program. China has acted as a mediator of sorts in hosting a six-country meeting to resolve the disagreement, and another could take place later this month.
But, in a clear swipe at the U.S. approach in Iraq, China said many countries must work together through established channels to make sure that prevention of proliferation is “democratic.”
“Unilateralism and double standards must be abandoned, and great importance should be attached and full play given to the role of the United Nations,” it said.
China opposed the U.S. invasion of Iraq in March and said any punishment of a sovereign country's leader should go through the UN Security Council, where China is a permanent member and wields veto power. The United States cited Saddam Hussein's purported weapons of mass destruction as justification for its military action.
The paper was released days before Prime Minister Wen Jiabao travels to the United States for a meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush and other officials from Dec. 7-13.
The United States said it was examining China's export policies as they related to weapons.
“We welcome efforts by China to stem the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, missiles, conventional weapons and related materials and technologies through stricter export control regulations,” the U.S. Embassy in Beijing said in a statement.
The white paper apparently sought to assure the international community, and particularly the United States, that China is not exporting missile or other weapons technology and has the apparatus in place to prevent such transfers.
The United States has complained that Chinese military support for Pakistan in the past has included ballistic missiles and help for its nuclear weapons program, charges China denies. Washington has imposed sanctions on several Chinese companies, accusing them of improperly exporting missile-related technologies.
On Wednesday, Pakistani officials said China, Islamabad's main arms supplier, will sell it a second nuclear power plant next year.
China also said it was working to transfer its export controls from its longtime planned-economy approach to one that fits its new “socialist market economy.”
That means relying less on administrative procedures from government agencies, which were used when companies were government-owned, and more on laws instituted during recent years to govern the activities of newly private companies that are not run by the government.
