[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 139 (Wednesday, October 8, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1967-E1968]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       CHINA NUCLEAR CERTIFICATION THREATENS UNITED STATES TROOPS

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                        HON. GERALD B.H. SOLOMON

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, October 8, 1997

  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, the Clinton administration recently 
announced that it is preparing to certify that China is in compliance 
with its international nonproliferation obligations and no longer 
exporting nuclear weapons-related material to countries such as Iran 
and Pakistan. According to United States law, such a certification is 
required before American corporations may trade in nuclear technology 
with China. Conveniently, this announcement came just a month before 
the United States visit by China's president Jiang Zemin, at which the 
certification would be the keystone of a successful summit. China's 
historical and current actions, however, indicate that it is still and 
will continue to pursue its dangerous nuclear proliferation activities. 
In an effort to score public relations points, President Clinton is 
willing to risk the lives and security of the American troops which 
will inevitably be called to deal with the crises created by China's 
nuclear trade in the world's hot spots.
  In an attempt to justify this illogical and foolhardy plan, the 
Clinton administration claim that certification would engage China's 
nuclear and military elite into the international nuclear regime. The 
administration seems to have convinced itself that China's assertions 
that it is no longer supplying nations like Iran and Pakistan with 
nuclear technology are genuine. After even minimal analysis, these weak 
justifications prove themselves meritless.
  The Clinton administration's engagement policy toward China has 
already proven itself a failure. In 1996, China sold ring magnets, used 
in centrifuges for the construction of nuclear weapons, to Pakistan. 
The administration accepted China's promise that it had recommitted to 
nuclear non-proliferation and decided, consistent with its engagement 
policy, not to sanction China. Despite this ``promise,'' however, the 
Chinese then proceeded to sell a special industrial furnace to an 
unsafeguarded nuclear facility in Pakistan, falsifying the related 
documents. China has continued to persist in its dealings with such 
nations, including a recent incident in which a Chinese merchant ship 
was found to be transporting illegal chemicals intended for the 
production of missile fuel from China to the Middle East. China's 
``commitment'' to non-proliferation remains a lie. There is no reason 
to think that this latest undeserved concession by the United States 
will succeed in curbing China's dangerous and irresponsible nuclear 
trade with unregulated nations.
  The predictions of huge profits for the U.S. area is also misleading. 
China's own nuclear engineers admit that their interest in U.S. nuclear 
technology will last only as long as it takes them to reverse engineer 
the technology and produce the plants themselves. This short-term gain 
for one industry is hardly worth the enormous potential risk to 
international security and the U.S. troops which are charged with its 
protection.
  Finally, and most important, certification is unacceptable because 
China and its nuclear proliferation activities have been and remain to 
this day a serious threat to the security of U.S. troops in the region. 
Through its irresponsible and illegal transfers of weapons of mass 
destruction to unregulated states such as Pakistan and Iran, China 
contributes to regional instability. As we all know, it is American 
troops, whether as part of a U.N. force, an Allied mission, or 
independently, which are committed to quelling regional conflicts in 
the very areas, including the Middle East and Asia, where

[[Page E1968]]

China markets weapons. These weapons of mass destruction could easily 
be used against American troops if the United States were to become 
involved, as in the Persian Gulf war, in protecting national security 
obligations abroad.
  Certification that China is in compliance with its nonproliferation 
obligations is not only undeserved, it is dangerous. By allowing the 
Chinese to obtain American nuclear technology, the administration will 
aid China in further destabilizing already volatile regions such as the 
Middle East, where U.S. troops will be called in to reinstate order. 
The Clinton administration cannot and will not be allowed to sacrifice 
the safety of American troops simply to record a public relations 
victory.

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