Stricter controls on supercomputer exports from the United States to China are needed to curb the development of Beijing's military technology, according to testimony given last summer to the US Government by a leading trade expert.
In a report titled The Export of Supercomputers to China: Implications for Peace and Security , delivered to the US Senate last year, Stephen Bryen described the sales from the US of 46 or more supercomputers to Beijing as being 'a risk to American national security' and a threat to the country's regional allies, such as Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.
His testimony was given in June, during a time when the US Government was investigating cases of supercomputer sales to the mainland.
Four months later, a bill preventing the free export of high-end computer systems was passed by the House of Representatives.
Mr Bryen has held senior positions in the US Government overseeing technology and trade security issues.
He helped negotiate and implement the 1986 US-Japan Supercomputer Agreement, which established a system to monitor and regulate sales of supercomputers.
Mr Bryen called for stricter controls on exports of supercomputers to the mainland which was 'seeking to enhance its nuclear weapons and their delivery systems'.