[IWAR] PSYOPS CHINA scholar says renewed US nuclear accusations areWTO related (fwd)

[Puhelin Luettelo <waste@zor.hut.fi>]

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China scholar says renewed US nuclear accusations are WTO related

     BEIJING, April 22 (AFP) - Renewed American accusations that China
     stole US nuclear secrets were a simple ploy to pressure Beijing into
     further concessions on its WTO bid, a Chinese political analyst said
     Thursday.
     
     "Condemning China is a way to put greater pressure on the Chinese
     side so that the US can get a better deal on the WTO," said Jia
     Qingguo, a political science professor at Beijing University.
     
     "The idea is that if China doesn't make greater compromises, then the
     US, the US Congress and the American people will oppose a deal for
     China to get into the WTO," he told AFP.
     
     Jia was responding to accusations spelled out in a report compiled by
     seven US intelligence agencies and issued to Congress and the White
     House Wednesday.
     
     The report reiterated accusations that have circulated around
     Washington for months and concluded that, "China obtained by
     espionage classified US nuclear weapons information that probably
     accelerated its program to develop nuclear weapons."
     
     The release of the report came as Chinese and US negotiators renewed
     Thursday in Beijing talks on China's bid to enter the World Trade
     Organization.
     
     Both sides narrowly failed to nail down a deal during Chinese Premier
     Zhu Rongji's visit to the US last week due to what China has viewed
     as the anti-China atmosphere in Washington over human rights and the
     nuclear theft issues.
     
     Jia said further WTO concessions by China would be difficult for the
     Chinese government and people to accept.
     
     "If the pressure continues like this successively it will be
     counterproductive, this is a dangerous game, if you push China too
     hard there will be a breaking point," he warned.
     
     James Tang, a political analyst at the University of Hong Kong,
     discounted the plausibility of a "conspiracy theory" on the WTO
     issue, but said repeated accusations attacking China would pose
     difficulties on how the administration of US President Bill Clinton
     views further trade liberalization with China.
     
     "If the two countries can successfully reach an agreement on WTO and
     US business benefits from such an agreement in the medium term, then
     perhaps things will improve for China in Washington," he said.
     
     In China, however, Zhu's trip to the US was getting mixed views and
     had not taken a prominent place in Chinese media reports, he said.
     
     "Some quarters are praising Zhu for having quieted the anti-Chinese
     sentiment in Washington, while others think he gave away far too much
     on WTO," he said.
     
     Tang placed the ball firmly in the US court, saying it was up to the
     Americans to overcome their political differences and come to a clear
     decision on whether China should be engaged or suspected.
     
     It would be crucial to see what, if any, substantial proof came out
     over the Chinese spying allegations, while the official position of
     the Clinton administration on the issue would also indicate the
     future direction of China-US relaitons, he said.
     
     "These are real issues facing China-US relations and they are not
     just going to go away," he said.