1985 US-China Nuclear Cooperation Agreement

1985 US-China Nuclear Cooperation Agreement (NCA)

Formal Title: 1985 Agreement for Cooperation Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the People's Republic of China Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy

Summary:

The 1985 U.S.-China Nuclear Cooperation Agreement (NCA) was signed on 23 July 1985 and approved by the US Congress on 30 December 1985, but has not yet been fully implemented. In October 1997, US President Clinton announced his intention to implement the agreement, and on 12 January 1998 he signed the formal certifications and reports required by US law to implement the agreement..

According to the 1954 Atomic Energy Act (AEA), the United States can only conduct nuclear cooperation with countries with which it has concluded a nuclear cooperation agreement. According to Section 129(2) of the AEA, the United States cannot export nuclear materials, equipment, or sensitive nuclear technology to any country found to have:

(B) "assisted, encouraged, or induced any non-nuclear weapon state to engage in activities involving source or special nuclear material and having direct significance for the manufacture or acquisition of nuclear explosive devices, and has failed to take steps which, in the President's judgment, represent sufficient progress toward terminating such assistance, encouragement, or inducement";

(C) "entered into an agreement...for the transfer of reprocessing equipment, materials, or technology" to a non-nuclear weapon state.

Under the AEA, the United States cannot export to such a country "unless the President determines that cessation of such exports would be seriously prejudicial to the achievement of United States non-proliferation objectives or otherwise jeopardize the common defense and security".

U.S. companies can only sell nuclear facilities, technology, or materials to China if and when the NCA is fully implemented. While approving the NCA in 1985, Congress enacted an approval resolution (joint) (P.L. 99-183) on 16 December 1985, signed by the President, which conditioned full implementation and nuclear cooperation under the agreement on detailed Presidential certifications of certain conditions:

(1) effective verification measures to ensure that U.S. exports are used only for peaceful purposes;

(2) China had provided additional information regarding its nuclear nonproliferation policies and from such information it could be concluded that China was not in violation of section 129 of the 1954 Atomic Energy Act, which requires termination of U.S. nuclear exports to countries that help non-nuclear weapons states acquire nuclear weapons capabilities;

(3) certain terms of the agreement would not prejudice U.S. licensing procedures for reprocessing and retransfers.

Additionally, according to a 1990 law [P.L. 101-246 (Foreign Relations Authorization Act, FY 1990-91) (the "Tiananmen Square Legislation")], for the agreement to take effect, it requires:

(1) that the conditions of the joint approval resolution (P.L. 99-183--above) are satisfied;

(2) an additional Presidential certification that China "has provided clear and unequivocal assurances to the United States that it is not assisting and will not assist any non-nuclear weapon state, either directly or indirectly, in acquiring nuclear explosive devices or the materials and components for such devices";

(3) a report submitted by the President to Congress that either China has "made progress on a program of political reform throughout the country, including Tibet" (includes six specific elements of reform), or that "it is in the national interest of the United States" to allow US nuclear trade to China.

According to U.S. officials, China must also provide assurances to the United States that its export control system has been established and is functioning, and both sides need to conduct visits to various Chinese organizations responsible for implementing Chinese nonproliferation policies.

The agreement would enter into force 30 days after submission of a report to Congress by the President. Until President Clinton's announcement in October 1997 that he would certify China, no previous U.S. President had been able to meet such requirements.

A cutoff of nuclear cooperation with China is to be used as the enforcement mechanism of the NCA. The agreement is scheduled to terminate on 29 December 2015.

Status:

China strongly favored early implementation of the agreement, particularly given its ambitious plans to expand its domestic civilian nuclear energy program. Since February 1995, the Clinton Administration also expressed interest in implementing the NCA to expand nuclear cooperation with China. Washington and Beijing conducted intensive negotiations since late 1996 to allow for Presidential certification by the October 1997 U.S.-China summit. This renewed interest in implementing the NCA was due in part to the Administration's strategy of "constructive engagement" with China, and in part to pressure from the US nuclear industry, which believed it would lose out to foreign competitors if it was unable to secure a foothold in the Chinese civilian nuclear power market in the next few years.

These negotiations bore fruit when on 29 October 1997, at the U.S.-China summit in Washington, President Clinton announced that he would certify that China has met the requirements for implementation of the agreement by stating:

"President Jiang and I agreed that the United States and China share a strong interest in stopping the spread of weapons of mass destruction and other sophisticated weaponry in unstable regions and rogue states--notably Iran. I welcome the steps China has taken and the clear assurances it has given today to help prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons and related technology. On the basis of these steps and assurances, I agreed to move ahead with the U.S.-China agreement for cooperation concerning the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. It will allow our companies to apply for licenses to sell equipment to Chinese nuclear power plants, subject to US monitoring. This agreement is win-win-win. It serves America's national security, environmental and economic interests." [The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, "Press Conference by President Clinton and President Jiang Zemin," 29 October 1997.]

Clinton's announcement was made in response to: (1) China's 11 May 1996 pledge not to provide assistance to unsafeguarded nuclear facilities; (2) its September 1997 promulgation of new nuclear export control regulations; (3) its October 1997 joining of the Zangger Committee (ZAC); (4) its October 1997 announcement that it will formulate nuclear-related dual-use export control regulations by mid-1998; and (5) its October 1997 confidential written assurance to Washington that it would halt all new nuclear cooperation with Iran. The cooperation was summed up in the U.S.-China joint statement, which stated, "The United States and China agree that it is in their mutual interest to cooperate in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. To this end, they each have taken the steps necessary to implement the U.S.-China Agreement on Peaceful Nuclear Cooperation concluded in 1985." [Joint US-China Statement, 29 October 1997.]

On 5 November 1997, the US House of Representatives voted, by 394-29, to extend from 30 days to 120 days the period for review of President's Clinton's certification for the NCA. The extension was contained in the Political Freedom in China Act of 1997. Congress would also be able to reject the agreement. With such an extension, Congress would have until March 1998 to review the certification, rather than until February 1998. On 12 January 1998, President Clinton signed the formal certifications and reports required by US law to implement the agreement, and submitted them to the U.S. Congress. In his 12 January 1998 Presidential Determination (No. 98-10), Clinton stated, "I hereby certify that the People's Republic of China has provided clear and unequivocal assurances to the United States that it is not assisting and will not assist any nonnuclear-weapon state, either directly or indirectly, in acquiring nuclear explosive devices or the material and components for such devices." [Presidential Determination No. 98-10, regarding the certification of the NCA, 12 January 1998.]

Both the Clinton Administration and China lobbied for the entry into effect of NCA prior to the March deadline. On 16 January 1998, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman stated during a telephone interview with AFP that, "The Chinese side welcomes Clinton's signing of the relevant certifications to initiate the agreement...It is hoped the U.S. will complete the relevant procedures as soon as possible so an early implementation of this agreement will be realized...China and the U.S. share a common interest in the peaceful use of nuclear technology. An early implementation of the agreement on the peaceful use of nuclear equipment will benefit both sides." ["Beijing calls for early implementation of China-US nuclear agreement," AFP, 16 January 1998.]

This was followed by testimony before the House Committee on International Relations on 4 February 1998, by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Nonproliferation Robert J. Einhorn who said that China "appear[s] to be taking ... very seriously" its pledge to stop spreading dangerous nuclear technology. Beijing is phasing out its nuclear cooperation with Iran and putting into place for the first time a system aimed at controlling the export of nuclear and dual-use materials, he said. However, it "had sold missile equipment and technology, dual-use chemicals and production equipment, and advanced conventional arms to recipients in regions of instability, primarily Iran and Pakistan." ["China Trying to Control Arms," AFP, 4 February 1998.] Einhorn stated further:

[Testimony of Robert J. Einhorn, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Nonproliferation, before the House Committee on International Relations, "Hearing on US-China Nuclear Cooperation Agreement," 4 February 1998]

On 19 March 1998 after the U.S. congress failed to take action concerning the NCA and the Agreement on the Cooperation Concerning the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Technology went into effect.

Currently, the U.S. has halted all nuclear-related exports to China after China failed to agree to prohibit the transfer of nuclear power technology to third parties. A 4 April 2000 memo from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) revealed that 16 requests for export licenses, known as Part 810s, made in 1998 from US companies to sell civilian nuclear power reactor technology had still not been approved. The memo stated, "To date, China has not provided any assurances for any of the Part 810 cases. China would prefer to provide any assurances on a case-by-case basis, but the U.S., with strong industry support, is requiring generic assurances. The matter is still under review by China."

China opposes U.S. demands because they were not included in the original 1985 agreement. Chinese Embassy spokesman Zhang Yuanyuan stated, "The request we got was that maybe China could make a blanket statement saying it was not going to use technology for military purposes, or [that it was] not going to transfer the American technology to any third parties. . . If we develop nuclear power facilities and want to export to third countries, it will be hard to determine if the technology is indigenously developed or from the U.S. That's the reason we don't want to give the assurances."

On 15 September 2003, the United States and China signed a Note Exchange on Government Assurance of Nuclear Technology Transfer followed by a 16 September 2003 press release regarding the U.S.-China Statement of Intent on the Implementation of Government Assurance of Nuclear Technology Transfer. According to the press release, this document stipulates that "when nuclear technology proposed for transfer is determined to require nonproliferation assurances, the government of the recipient country will pledge that the technology will be used exclusively for peaceful purposes and will not be retransferred to another country without the prior consent of the government of the supplier country" and further verifies that "reciprocal nonproliferation assurances will be exchanged when required for joint U.S.-Chinese projects." Additionally, the document reaffirms U.S. acceptance of extension of term limits on authorizations for these projects.

On 12 January 2004, the U.S. Department of Energy and the China Atomic Energy Authority concluded a Statement of Intent Concerning Cooperation in the Fields of Peaceful Use of Nuclear Energy and Nuclear Nonproliferation and Counterterrorism. This document covers nuclear reactor technology and nuclear application technologies; nuclear emergency management and safety; export control; international nuclear safeguards and physical protection; and radioactive source security.

[Sources: Joshua Boehm and Zachary Davis, "The 1985 U.S.-China Agreement for Nuclear Cooperation: Moving Towards Implementation" CRS Report for Congress, 10 April 1997; Mark Hibbs and Michael Knapik, "U.S. Aims for China Certification Timed with Fall Visit by Jiang," NuclearFuel, 28 July 1997, p. 2; James F. Keeley with Nancy J. Pearson-Mackie and Sheila K. Singh, A List of Bilateral Civilian Nuclear Co-Operation Agreements, Strategic Studies Program, University of Calgary, 1992, p. 64; Carol Giacomo, "U.S. May Relax Curbs On Nuclear Sales To China," Reuter, 20 November 1996; CRS report, 3 July 1991, p. 24; Mark Hibbs and Michael Knapik, "U.S. Aims for China Certification Timed with Fall Visit by Jiang," NuclearFuel, 28 July 1997, p. 2; Dianne E. Rennack, "China: U.S. Economic Sanctions," CRS Report for Congress, Congressional Research Service, The Library of Congress, 1 July 1996, p. 14; Reuter, 31 July 1997; Ivan Tang, "Nuclear Controls Passed," South China Morning Post, 2 August 1997, p. 9; PLA Daily (in Chinese), 2 August 1997; PRC Newsletter, 7 August 1997; "Controls to Allay US Missile Fears," Hong Kong Standard, 21 September 1997; "China Issues Nuclear Export Rules," Reuter, in Washington Post, 12 September 1997, p. A29; Scott Hillis, "China Insists Nuclear Exports For Peaceful Use," Reuter, 11 September 1997; Associated Press, 11 September 1997; John Pomfret, "U.S. May Certify China on Curbing Nuclear Exports," Washington Post, 18 September 1997, p. A28; Center for Strategic and International Studies, U.S.-China Commercial Nuclear Commerce: Nonproliferation and Trade Issues, September 1997; "U.S. Congress Votes to Stall Nuclear Energy Deal," Inside China Today (online version), 6 November 1997, Bill Gertz, "Beijing Stalls on Nuclear Promises," Washington Times, 9 May 2000, p. 1.; Department of Energy, "U.S., China Affirm Nuclear Technology Exchange Safeguards," 16 September 2003.; National Nuclear Security Administration, "Statement of Intent Between the Department of Energy and the United States of America and the China Atomic Energy Authority of the People's Republic of China Concerning Cooperation in the Fields of Peaceful Use of Nuclear Energy and Nuclear Nonproliferation and Counterterrorism," 12 January 2004.]

Key statements/documents related to the 1985 US-China NCA:

[NUCLEAR CONTROL INSTITUTE WEBSITE, Washington, DC: "US-China Nuclear Trade Now?"]

[GLOBALBEAT WEBSITE, Center for War, Peace, and the News Media at New York University's Department of Journalism and Mass Communication: "Sino-U.S. Nuclear Cooperation at a Crossroads" by Jennifer Weeks.]

For related pages:

[1985 NCA CHRONOLOGY OF STATEMENTS AND DEVELOPMENTS]

[CHINA'S NUCLEAR EXPORTS]

[CHINA'S EXPORT CONTROLS]

Other US-China cooperative initiatives:

[US-CHINA COOPERATIVE ACTIVITIES]

[US-CHINA NATIONAL LABORATORY INTERACTIONS]

[JOINT DEFENSE CONVERSION COMMISSION (JDCC)]

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 opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, agents. Copyright © 2007 by MIIS.