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Summary

Congress has long been concerned about whether U.S. policy advances the U.S. interest in reducing the role of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and missiles that could deliver them. Recipients of China's technology include Pakistan and countries that the State Department says support terrorism, such as Iran, North Korea, and Libya. The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, added an urgent U.S. interest in weapons nonproliferation. This CRS Report (superseding CRS Issue Brief IB92056) discusses the national security problem of China's role in weapons proliferation and issues related to the U.S. policy response, including legislation, since the mid-1990s. The table at the end of this report summarizes the U.S. sanctions imposed on PRC entities for weapons proliferation. This CRS Report will be updated as warranted. Since 1991, China has taken some steps to mollify concerns about its role in weapons proliferation. Nonetheless, supplies from China have aggravated trends that result in ambiguous technical aid, more indigenous capabilities, longer range missiles, and secondary (retransferred) proliferation. As the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) has reported, China remains a "key supplier" of weapons technology --particularly missile or chemical technology. Policy issues have concerned summits, sanctions, and satellite exports. On November 21, 2000, the Clinton Administration agreed to waive missile proliferation sanctions, resume processing licenses to export satellites to China, and discuss an extension of the bilateral space launch agreement, in return for another promise from China on missile nonproliferation. However, PRC proliferation activities again raised questions about sanctions. On five occasions, the Bush Administration has imposed sanctions on PRC entities for transfers (related to ballistic missiles, chemical weapons, and cruise missiles) to Pakistan and Iran, under the Arms Export Control Act, Export Administration Act, Iran Nonproliferation Act of 2000, and IranIraq Arms Nonproliferation Act of 1992. Among the actions, on September 1, 2001, the Administration imposed missile proliferation sanctions (denying satellite exports), after a PRC company transferred technology to Pakistan, despite the November 2000 promise. During preparations for the October 2002 summit between Presidents Bush and Jiang at Crawford, TX, China, on August 25, 2002, published the missile export controls promised in November 2000. Washington and Beijing have held talks on the export controls. Depending on the enforcement of the regulations and reductions in proliferation practices, one issue for President Bush is whether to waive the missile proliferation sanctions imposed in September 2001. Since October 16, 2002, when the Bush Administration publicly disclosed that North Korea, on October 4, admitted to a secret uranium enrichment program for developing nuclear weapons, U.S. policy has sought China's cooperation in a multilateral effort to achieve the elimination of North Korea's nuclear weapons program. China has called for the United States to agree to bilateral talks with North Korea, rather than multilateral talks or actions by China or the United Nations (including sanctions).

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