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16 May 2001
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| http://www.excite.com.au/news/story/aap/20010516/07/international/china-us-chn.inp |
Despite tensions over Taiwan and an American spy plane, Beijing told a U.S. envoy Tuesday that it wants improved relations with Washington, but warned that American ambitions to build a shield against missiles would spark a new arms race. China had been thought likely to be the toughest stop on James Kelly's tour to win Asian support for the contentious missile defense system. After a morning of meetings between Chinese officials and Kelly, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, China said its opposition to the missile system had not softened. A Foreign Ministry spokesman said the system would endanger the global strategic balance, spark an arms race and obstruct efforts to control the spread of weapons. He urged Washington to abandon its plans. "When you invent a new spear, of course you will invent a new shield. When you invent a new shield, you will invent new types of spear. It always goes on like that. Therefore, all new plans like this will not bring any self-benefit," the spokesman, Sun Yuxi, said at a briefing. "It's just like lifting a stone and dropping it on one's own feet." Sun said China would respond if Washington proceeds with the system, but he would not say how. China has previously said it could beef up its small nuclear arsenal or improve the accuracy of its missiles to overcome the U.S. defenses. "China will not just wait idly and see its national interests being undermined," Sun said. Kelly, who also visited Japan, South Korea, Australia and Singapore, said before his arrival in Beijing that he hoped to allay Chinese concerns about the system. Before the talks began Tuesday, he said China and the United States share interests "in promoting peace and stability." "Curbing the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction is a key element," he said. |
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