NRC CITES CONCERNS ON CHINA TREATY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000504870052-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 8, 2012
• Sequence Number: 52
• Publication Date: October 5, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/08: CIA-RDP90-00965R000504870052-4 STAT
Y
ARTICLE
ON PAGE
NRC Cites
Concerns on
China Treaty
Uncertainties Seen
About Arms' Spread
By Joanne Omang
Washington Post Staff Writer
The Nuclear Regulatory Com-
,mission is concerned that the Rea-
gan administration's proposed nu-
clear cooperation agreement with
China contains elements that could
produce "future misunderstand-
ings" over U.S. efforts to halt the
spread of nuclear weapons, Sen.
William Proxmire (D-Wis.) said yes-
terday.
Proxmire, a leading critic of the
pact, released the text of an Oct. 2
letter from NRC Chairman Nunzio
J. Palladino responding to questions
about the pact's clarity and the
agreement's reliance on verbal as-
surances, rather than written lan-
guage, regarding Peking's commit-
ment to curbing nuclear prolifera-
tion.
The NRC letter is almost certain
to increase controversy over the
pact, which was the highlight of
President Reagan's April 1984 trip
to China but was so widely criti-
cized it was never submitted to
Congress. China had for years ad-
vocated the spread of nuclear weap-
ons worldwide, and intelligence re-
ports last year said Chinese tech-
nicians had been spotted at e a-
istan site of an alleged secret nu-
WASHINGTON POST
5 October 1985
clear weapons development com-
p ex.
ter several further conferences
with Chinese officials, the admin-
istration sent the pact to Congress
during the July visit to Washington
of President Li Xiannian, saying
new assurances from the Chinese
had resolved any problems. But the
NRC was reported at the time to
have expressed continuing misgiv-
ings in a classified document.
"The commission is concerned
with the assurances provided by the
PRC [People's Republic of China].
As presently constituted, they could
lead to future misunderstandings,"
Palladino wrote Proxmire. "Because
these concerns involve classified
information, we are unable to dis-
cuss them in detail in this re-
sponse."
He also said the commission
"would have preferred that the
agreement contain a clear state-
ment" of U.S. rights to veto the re-
processing or enrichment of any
nuclear material it supplies or that
is used in U.S.-supplied reactors.
Those processes can lead to weap-
ons production. "Such a statement
could eliminate the potential for
future misunderstanding," the let-
ter said.
A provision elevating the pact
over any internal law "could be read
as reducing the flexibility of the
U.S., including that of Congress," in
trying to modify nuclear relations
with China in the future, Palladino
continued.
Asked about China's alleged aid
to Pakistan and other nations in de-
veloping nuclear weapons, Palladino
said the commission "cannot com-
ment on this question in an unclas-
sified fashion."
Proxmire said, "What they're
saying is, 'Look before you leap'
... signaling to us that this agree-.
ment may have some serious pit-
falls. I hope those signals will
prompt Congress to review this
agreement intensively."
The proposal would set rules for
U.S. industry bids for a share of
China's nuclear power future, which
could involve $6 billion or more in
foreign contracts. The industry has
not sold a domestic reactor since
1978 and is eager for a chance to
compete in China with European
firms already at work.
Administration officials argue
that the language of the proposed
pact is clear on U.S. rights and as-
sures future U.S. flexibility. They
have said China's verbal assurances
are firm and binding.
The Senate Foreign Relations
Committee has scheduled a closed
hearing on the agreement Tuesday
and a public one Wednesday. The
House Foreign Affairs Committee
held a private hearing this week.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/08: CIA-RDP90-00965R000504870052-4