The US said on Tuesday it was waiving sanctions against China for past missile technology transfers to Iran and Pakistan but imposing them on these two states for receiving the equipment.
"The US side has decided to waive sanctions under US law for past Chinese assistance to missile programs in Pakistan and Iran, and to resume certain commercial space interactions with China," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said. "Sanctions have been imposed upon Pakistani and Iranian recipients of the Chinese assistance," he added.
China was liable for sanctions because of the transfers of technology including whole missiles, in Pakistan's case, or in Iran's, of components to make them, he said.
But US President Bill Clinton, who leaves office in January, had granted a waiver because China's foreign ministry had pledged to clean up its act on arms technology exports.
A senior State Department official said that in the case of Iran, China's pledge to control exports "can certainly make a big impact in terms of slowing down developments."
He said the shorter the range of missile, the less Iran's dependence on foreign technology.
India and Pakistan are subject to US sanctions because of their tit-for-tat nuclear tests of 1998.
In a statement carried by China's official Xinhua News Agency, the Chinese Foreign Ministry issued the most explicit pledge to date on refraining from spreading missile technology.
It covered not only whole missile systems, which Beijing agreed not to transfer two years ago, but also dual-use components that could be used in other technologies.
"China has no intention to assist, in any way, any country in the development of ballistic missiles that can be used to deliver nuclear weapons," Foreign Ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi (
Mohammed Riaz, a Pakistan foreign ministry spokesman, said:"The Chinese have stated categorically on every occasion that they have not transferred or exported to Pakistan any technology contravening the guidelines of the missile technology control regime, which they have voluntarily accepted."
"We regret and find these sanctions unwarranted ... but we are not receiving much technology from the US, even before the sanctions we were not," he said.
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