China Urges U.S. to Hold In-Depth Talks on Missile Defense Systems
"We are ready to have discussions and dialogue with the Americans," Sha Zukang, director general of arms control and disarmament for the Foreign Ministry, said.
"The issue of nonproliferation can be solved through dialogue and consultations based on equal participation... NMD is not a way to solve it," Sha told reporters.
He said China expects the U.S. in the next bilateral meeting to try to justify NMD, but added that it is "too early" to talk of possible deals on NMD.
"It's not a bilateral issue between China and the U.S., it's an issue between the U.S. and the rest of the world," Sha said.
The Bush administration, in office for less than two months, appears to have "the same good intentions" as the previous administration, he said.
"China appreciated the statement by the Bush administration saying NMD is not targeted at China," he said.
"Political intention is always important ... (but) from a technical point of view NMD would certainly have the capability of compromising China's nuclear defense capability."
"More and more people have come to realize the real purpose of NMD is to seek (the United States') own absolute security at the expense of others," Sha said.
The U.S. is guilty of "unilateralism" that could destabilize the world, he said.
"China is not against TMD per se", which does not violate international conventions, and the protection of U.S. forces is "legitimate", he added.
If TMD becomes a large deployment and extension of NMD, then "the consequences will be just as serious as NMD," Sha said.
Last week, China's Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan accused the U.S. of raising tension across the Taiwan Strait by continuing to sell advanced weapons to Taiwan.
Taiwan will definitely be discussed during Vice-Premier Qian Qichen's planned visit to the U.S. from March 18-24, Tang said.
(DPA)