    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book II)]
    [October 5, 1993]
    [Page 1694]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement by the Press Secretary on Nuclear Testing by China
    October 5, 1993

        Last night China conducted an underground nuclear test at the Lop
    Nur test site in northwest China, despite the urging of more than 20
    nations, including the United States, not to do so.
        The United States deeply regrets this action. We urge China to
    refrain from further nuclear tests and to join the other nuclear powers
    in a global moratorium. Such a moratorium will contribute to the
    achievement of the administration's goal of completing a Comprehensive
    Test Ban by 1996, to which the administration is committed.
        The President has today directed the Department of Energy to take
    such actions as are needed to put the U.S. in a position to be able to
    conduct nuclear tests next year, provided the notification and review
    conditions of the Hatfield-Exon-Mitchell amendment are met in the spring
    of 1994.
        The President's ultimate decision on whether to test will be based
    on fundamental U.S. national security interests, taking into account:
        --the contribution further tests would make to improving the safety
            and reliability of the U.S. arsenal in preparation for a
            Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTB)
        --the extent to which China and others have responded to the U.S.
            appeal for a global moratorium on testing;
        --progress in the CTB negotiations;
        --the implications of further U.S. nuclear tests on our broader
            nonproliferation objectives.
        Administration officials will begin consultations at once with
    Congress and our allies on these issues.