Bush Denies China Exports Nuclear Data

Vice President George Bush today denied charges that China has been exporting nuclear technology to five countries and that the Reagan Administration has been covering up China’s actions.

Bush, responding to charges Monday by Sen. Alan Cranston (D-Calif.) told “CBS Morning News”: “We’re not covering up any information. . . . We wouldn’t enter into an agreement that we think would increase proliferation of nuclear weapons.”

Cranston had charged in a Senate floor speech that China has had either negotiations or nuclear trade with five “nuclear outlaw” nations attempting to develop atomic weapons programs--Brazil, Argentina, Pakistan, South Africa and Iran.

Speaking from Washington, where he had just returned from a six-day trip to China, Bush said that a proposed nuclear agreement between the United States and Peking “is a good one. We think it has proper protections, and I think we’ll be able to satisfy Sen. Cranston.”

The senator’s speech marked a new turn in congressional efforts to block the proposed pact or to make it conditional on restrictions against Chinese export of U.S.-supplied material.

“Most people recognize that for us to be able to sell nuclear technology for peaceful uses is a good thing,” Bush said. “We’re the best at it. . . . I think it’s necessary for China’s growth and development, and we want to be a part of that. We’ve worked out an agreement that protects mankind.”