960402

China denies

arms transfer

to Pakistan,

stresses NPT

BEIJING: China denied on Tuesday U.S. charges that it had sold equipment for making nuclear weapons to Pakistan and stressed Beijing was more concerned about nuclear proliferation in Asia than the United States.

"The Chinese government is more concerned about nuclear proliferation in Asia than the U.S. government," Foreign Ministry spokesman Shen Guofang told a news briefing.

Beijing had not sold equipment for production of nuclear weapons, Shen said when asked if China had sold ring magnets crucial to making high-speed centrifuges, which enrich uranium for use in nuclear weapons, to Pakistan.

"China is against nuclear proliferation and China has never exported or provided any equipment or technology to any country which can be used for the production of nuclear weapons," he said.

The top U.S. negotiator on the issue, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Robert Einhorn, visited Beijing last month for talks on the issue but left without resolving the dispute.

Sale of the magnets is not prohibited by the Nuclear Non- proliferation Treaty, to which China is a signatory, because they are also used in enriching uranium for peaceful purposes.

Shen hinted that the United States was using the incident to obstruct business.

"We hope that preventing nuclear proliferation is not used as an excuse to deprive countries, especially developing countries, of their right to peaceful utilisation of nuclear power," he said.

U.S. officials have said they are concerned about a pattern of nuclear cooperation in which China has provided nuclear experts and help in plutonium-related activities.

U.S. officials said China was willing to reiterate general non-proliferation commitments but was reluctant to give the kind of specific commitments Washington wanted.-Reuer