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Joint Defense Conversion Commission (JDCC)
Summary:
The Joint Defense Conversion Commission (JDCC) was established in October 1994 in an agreement by US Defense Secretary William Perry and China's Commission of Science, Technology, and Industry for National Defense (COSTIND) Director Ding Henggao. Under the agreement, the two sides agreed "to promote the orderly use, for peaceful purposes, of defense industrial, technological and scientific facilities and personnel not needed for defense requirements." The agreement was intended to provide US assistance to Chinese conversion of military and defense facilities for civilian commercial applications. The JDCC initially established two projects, one to develop electric buses and another to upgrade China's air traffic control system.
The provision of an integrated air traffic control system to China, however, came under political attack in the United States, since it was alleged that this radar system could enhance the capabilities of China's Air Force. There were also allegations about regarding the role of a friend and policy advisor of Perry. As a result of these issues, on 9 October 1995, the US House of Representatives, reacting to allegations that JDCC projects could aid China's military, decided to cut funding for the JDCC. The JDCC was officially discontinued in July 1996; in a letter to the House National Security Committee in July 1996, Perry stated: "In light of the limited scope of activities that the JDCC has been able to undertake, I have concluded that it makes sense to terminate it."
Current Status:
The JDCC has been discontinued, and there are at present no plans to revive it or implement any similar cooperative agreement relating to defense conversion in China.
[Sources: Jason Glashow, "China Tech Transfer Faces Congressional Inquiry," Defense News, 8 January 1996, pp. 1, 20; Nigel Holloway, "Beating A Retreat," Far Eastern Economic Review, 22 August 1996, p. 26; William Triplett, Defense News, 9 October 1995, pp. 23-24.]
Other US-China cooperative initiatives:
[US-CHINA NATIONAL LABORATORY INTERACTIONS]
This
material is produced independently for NTI by the James Martin
Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of
International Studies and does not necessarily reflect the
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