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China, US to Resume Arms Talks Friday in Beijing
China and the United States will resume arms control talks on Friday, more than a year after Chinese government suspended them over NATO's bombing of its embassy in Belgrade.
The two-day talks mark a near complete return to normalcy in China-US relations after the May, 1999 bombing sank bilateral ties to their lowest level in years.
But the two sides are set to square off over US missile defence plans and arms sales to Taiwan, and allegations of China's plan to buy an airborne radar system from Israel.
The American delegation -- headed by John Holum, senior adviser to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright for arms control -- would raise weapons proliferation concerns and regional security issues, the State Department said.
The Chinese, led by Vice Foreign Minister Wang Guangya, are likely to vent anger over US arms sales to Taipei which are emboldening independence supporters on the island.
China is also expected to press its opposition to the US Theatre Missile Defence (TMD) plan, a missile shield Washington has proposed for its allies and troops in Asia.
China says its support for Western-led arms control and non-proliferation efforts is being undermined by US plans to construct the TMD and a National Missile Defence (NMD) shield for the United States.
China, which has found common cause with Russia in opposition to the NMD, has said it may have to add to its arsenal if the US project goes ahead. It is estimated to have deployed 284 nuclear warheads, compared to more than 7,000 each by the United States and Russia, 512 by France and 464 by Britain.
Another irritant in this week's talks is China's plans to buy $250 million Phalcon advanced early warning radar systems from Israel. The United States said the technology could be used against Taiwan and has worked to scupper the deal.
China has rejected US criticism of the deal as unwarranted interference in its bilateral relations with Israel.
Despite major differences, the resumption of arms control talks -- sandwiched between Albright's visit and a trip to Beijing next week by Secretary of Defence William Cohen -- signals a return to business as usual between the two powers.
China suspended the dialogue on non-proliferation and human rights, as well as military-to military contacts, following the embassy bombing which killed three Chinese and wounded 27.
Military contacts were resumed in January with the visit of a top Chinese general to the United States. But the human rights dialogue remains suspended.
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