China under fire in US Congress over proposed new nuclear deal
Beijing's record on nuclear proliferation is facing US congressional criticism as the Obama administration seeks renewal of a 30-year agreement that enables American involvement in China's fast-growing atomic energy industry.
Beijing's record on nuclear proliferation is facing US congressional criticism as the Obama administration seeks renewal of a 30-year agreement that enables American involvement in China's fast-growing atomic energy industry.
It's far less contentious than the new nuclear deal with Iran aimed at preventing Tehran from acquiring atomic weapons. China has had the bomb for 50 years and has a stockpile of perhaps 250 weapons.
This agreement facilitates the transfer of US technology for civilian use, and blocking or delaying it could complicate already tense Sino-US relations. In September, US President Barack Obama will host President Xi Jinping at the White House amid growing strains over Beijing's island-building in the South China Sea and alleged cybertheft of US government and trade secrets.
There are also major commercial implications. The US nuclear industry is warning it needs swift renewal of the agreement, which expires at the end of this year. Four American-designed reactors worth US$8 billion are under construction in China, and dozens more are planned or proposed that industry advocates claim could support tens of thousands of US jobs.
Republican Senator Marco Rubio, a presidential hopeful, last week co-sponsored a resolution seeking to block it, saying Chinese entities had continued to transfer sensitive military technology to Iran and North Korea, and assisted Pakistan's nuclear programme.
"The stakes are too high for us to continue a business-as-usual approach to China by letting this agreement enter into force," Rubio said.
Democrat Senator Ed Markey has also come out against it, demanding strong conditions to ensure Beijing meets non-proliferation standards.
But the Obama administration is warning that ending US-China cooperation would be devastating to the US nuclear industry and would hurt bilateral relations. It says China's record on non-proliferation has improved. Beijing has signed international nuclear control accords and has ceased support to Pakistan and Iran's nuclear weapons programmes since the 1990s.
Thomas Countryman, the top State Department official on non-proliferation, told a congressional hearing on Thursday that failure to implement the agreement "would be taken by the Chinese as a step backward by the United States from our professed desire to be partners where we can and to manage our differences where we have them".
But he acknowledged Beijing had yet to show "the necessary capability and will" to stop illicit transfers of sensitive technology, including to Iran's ballistic missile programme by Chinese national Li Fangwei, also known as Karl Lee, who has a US$5 million US bounty on his head.
Chinese embassy spokesman Zhu Haiquan said Beijing strictly abided by its international obligations and would punish any violation of export control laws.
