The George W. Bush administration is considering a waiver on sanctions barring the sale of military-related equipment to China as another weapon in its war on terrorism, The Washington Post reported yesterday.
The White House was reconsidering the sanctions imposed after the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators to promote exchanges of intelligence with Beijing, government officials told the newspaper.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Guangya (
"It is always our position that countries might have differences, but that imposing sanctions for a particular purpose is not constructive," Wang said at a news conference. "We want the United States to lift sanctions for whatever purpose against China."
The move would permit the sale of spare parts for 24 Black Hawk helicopters the US sold China in 1984, but which were the object of sanctions imposed after China's 1989 crackdown of demonstrators in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, the Post said.
US officials said the White House was seeking to promote exchanges of anti-terrorist intelligence with China in the wake of Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
China shares a rugged, mountainous border with Afghanistan, where Saudi-born extremist Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network is headquartered.
The Black Hawk helicopters, originally purchased by China for search-and-rescue missions, are designed for high-altitude operations.
The report came just hours before Bush was scheduled to depart for an APEC meeting in Shanghai. Bush and Chinese President Jiang Zemin (
Sanctions currently bar US companies from launching satellites on Chinese rockets or helping its rocketry industry. In September, two Chinese firms were barred from doing business with the US after they were accused of supplying missile technology to Pakistan.
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