February 8, 2005 :: AP :: News
Undersecretary of State John Bolton publicly blasted China for its persistent and considerable transfers of missile technology to Iran, a state sponsor of terrorism, and other rogue states, in violation of its own non-proliferation pledges. Bolton delivered the firm remarks at a Japan-sponsored conference in Tokyo.
Bolton warned that the US would move aggressively to further sanction Chinese companies providing such transfers, as it has repeatedly in recent years, which he said also included Pakistan, North Korea and Libya:
“On numerous occasions we have expressed our concern about these entities to the Chinese government and have asked Beijing to subject exports by these serial proliferators to persistent and close scrutiny…Unfortunately, we continue to see transfers by these serious proliferators of missile-related items to rogue states and outposts of tyranny such as Iran.”
Update: February 9: Chinese arms control official Liu Zhixian explained that China exercises strict controls any transfers of missile technology to rogue states. (Article)
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