For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
September 4, 2001
U.S., China to Discuss Missile Defense
Statement by the Press Secretary
The Presidents policy is to seek to reduce the level of offensive nuclear weapons in the world, to lessen the risk of nuclear war, and to protect the United States and its military forces, allies, and friends from threats like ballistic missile attack. In that context, the United States will hold intensive discussions with China on this subject in the coming weeks. In those discussions, we will share with the Chinese the same briefing on our missile defense testing program that we have shared with our Asian and European allies and friends and with the Russians.
Our consultations with China will make
clear that the U.S. missile defense program does not threaten China but
seeks to counter limited missile threats from rogue states and the
danger of accidental or unauthorized launches. Only those
foreign parties with hostile intent toward the United States have
grounds to fear U.S. missile defense.
The United States will not seek to
overcome China's opposition to missile defense by telling the Chinese
that we do not object to an expansion of their nuclear ballistic
missile force. Nor will we acquiesce in any resumption of
nuclear testing by China. We are respecting the nuclear
testing moratorium and all other nations should as well.
No one should try to blame the
modernization of China's offensive nuclear forces on our missile
defense efforts. China's ongoing modernization effort was
initiated years ago. We will tell the Chinese that it is
unnecessary and that it is not good for regional stability or for
peace.
We believe missile defense can contribute
to stability in Asia. Moreover, missile defense is an important
element of our broader strategy to combat proliferation of missiles and
weapons of mass destruction. The export of Chinese missile
technology continues to be a concern (which is why we imposed sanctions
on a Chinese company on Saturday) as does the Chinese buildup of
short-range ballistic missiles.
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