|
|||||
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
 |
 |
    |
|
|
|||
 |
|
||
|
|||
|
|
|
|
||||||||
|
Chinese Response: Beijing Issues Controls for Dual-Use Chemical Exports By Mike Nartker “As one of another significant measures taken to improve China’s export control of sensitive items, these measures will further complete China’s export control of dual-use chemicals and related equipment and technologies,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a press statement. Under the regulations, set to go into effect Nov. 19, companies wishing to export certain chemical agents and related items must first register and apply for a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation license. The receiving party must guarantee that the exports will not be used in chemical weapon development, that they will not be used for purposes other than their declared end-use and that they will not be transferred to a third party. The regulations also outline possible penalties for export control violations, ranging from fines to the revocation of licensing for foreign trade operations. China’s new chemical export control list is divided into two parts — Part I, which lists 10 chemical agents, and Part II, which identifies related equipment and technologies, such as production and storage equipment and toxic gas monitoring and detection systems. In addition, the new regulations prohibit Chinese firms from exporting chemical agents and related items if they know the exports will be used for the development of weapons, whether or not the exports are covered by the control list. The release of the Chinese chemical export controls is the latest in a series of Chinese steps to tighten its export control policies and reduce the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. China has previously announced the promulgation of a similar set of regulations on the export of dual-use biological items and regulations concerning the export of ballistic missiles and related technologies (see GSN, Sept. 3). Experts have said a key issue will be China’s enforcement of its new WMD-related export controls. The Chinese chemical export controls were developed on the basis of other domestic export control regulations and the experiences of other countries, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson said. As a member of the Chemical Weapons Convention, China has fulfilled its obligations under the treaty and has instituted domestic regulations on the production of controlled chemicals, the spokesperson said. “China has all along advocated the complete prohibition and thorough destruction of all kinds of weapons of mass destruction, including chemical weapons, and opposed any country in any way to develop, possess, produce or use chemical weapons or proliferate such weapons,” the spokesperson said. For further information, see:
| ||||||||||
Back to top
