Once again the United States has put trade before world peace and human rights in its relations with China. Last week it decided not to take any action against China over China’s sale to Pakistan of ring magnets that can be used in centrifuges in the production of enriched uranium. The sale comes after Chinese sale of material that can be used in the nuclear-weapons-production process to Iran. The decision over the sale to Pakistan came after Chinese officials said they did not know the technology had been sold by the Chinese Nuclear Industry Co. That assertion is little dubious given that Chinese large-scale industry, especially nuclear industry, rarely acts autonomously. True, the magnets were not on the international list of items that should not be sold to non-nuclear nations, but China seems oblivious to the risk of proliferation.
It is sad that the US is not prepared to send a message to China, rather settling for an empty promise that China will not do it again. That promise is hopelessly inconsistent. Caught this time, Chinese officialdom protested they did not know about the export. If that is the case, how can they hope to ensure there will be no repetition? How can they control what they do not know about?
It will be interesting to see what the US official attitude will be to the call by American companies for action to be taken against China for allegedly pirating about $2.9 billion worth of intellectual property. Some retaliation seems more likely on this score because US trade interests are directly affected.
The only consistent message the Clinton administration has given China has been: trade comes first.