China Vows to Halt Sales of Missiles to Iran, U.S. Says
China has promised the United States that it will stop selling anti-ship cruise missiles to Iran, a senior Clinton administration official said Friday.
The pledge came in a meeting two weeks ago between Secretary of State Madeline Albright and Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen at a U.N. gathering in New York, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
State Department spokesman James P. Rubin said Albright brought the matter up with Qian, as she has in all their encounters leading up the Oct. 29 summit here between President Clinton and Chinese President Jiang Zemin.
“Secretary Albright has raised in all her meetings with the Chinese foreign minister our deep concerns about the sale of conventional weapons and cruise missiles to Iran,” Rubin said.
China has also agreed in principle to halt assisting Iran’s nuclear program, although the details of that arrangement are still being worked out, according to other senior U.S. officials.
China has also reportedly canceled the planned sale of nuclear-capable missiles to Syria.
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