China unveils new missile rules as U.S. envoy arrives

Beijing (Agence France-Presse): The United States Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage began talks in Beijing on Monday hours after China said it would toughen up rules on missile technology exports, a major cause of Sino-U.S. disagreements.

The full text of the regulations — pledging that China will "exercise strict control of the export of missiles and missile-related items and technologies" — was published by official newspapers on Monday.

Washington has repeatedly expressed concern over China's policies toward weapons proliferation and has angered Beijing by imposing sanctions on a series of Chinese firms for allegedly breaking international accords on the issue.

The United States has long urged China to issue regulations as part of making its non-proliferation policy more transparent, demands which have become more urgent after the Sept. II attacks.

However it remained unclear if the new 24-article regulations, which pledge strict criminal sanctions against violators, will satisfy Washington.

Many issues remain murky, for example the content of a missile technology "control list" which was referred to in the regulations but not published.

U.S. officials declined to reveal who Armitage would meet on Monday, but it was widely believed he would hold talks with Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan and Vice Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing.

"He departed for his meetings with his Chinese counterparts this morning," a U.S. Embassy spokesman told AFP.

The consultations would cover a host of bilateral and regional issues, including preparations for the late October visit to the United States by Chinese President Jiang Zemin, he said.

Jiang is expected to hold talks with U.S. President George W. Bush at Bush's Crawford, Texas ranch ahead of the 2002 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group's informal summit in Mexico on Oct. 26 and 27, that both leaders will attend.

China's announcement late Sunday of the new missile-technology export regulations appears to be an attempt to appease long-standing U.S. concerns about China's alleged proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

President Bush has made weapons proliferation a central plank of his foreign policy, saying he fears terrorists could be supplied with weapons of mass destruction from members of what he has tagged the "axis of evil" — Iran, Iraq and North Korea.

On July 19, the U.S. incensed Beijing by announcing sanctions on nine Chinese companies it accused of selling chemical and germ warfare agents or destabilizing arms to Iran.

Last September, the State Department slapped sanctions on the China Metallurgical Equipment Company and accused it of sending missile components to Pakistan's National Development Complex, which was also sanctioned.

Armitage arrived in Beijing on Sunday from Pakistan where he held a lengthy meeting with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on Saturday on the situation in the disputed region of Kashmir.

He was also expected to brief the Chinese side on the latest developments in South Asia, Chinese media reported.

Besides seeking Beijing's continued support for the war on terrorism, Armitage was also expected to discuss Taiwan as well as other issues, possibly including economic and trade issues and human rights.