Qian, the highest ranking Chinese authority to visit Washington in two years, said that going through with this sale would be a "grave violation" of a 1982 agreement with China signed by then-President Ronald Reagan.

The Chinese official warned that the sale of these weapons would be detrimental to U.S.-China relations and would raise military tensions in the area. Bush administration officials have said the decision on whether to proceed with the sale will be made in April.

The arms-deal decision will have a major impact on Washington's relations with the Chinese workers state. According to a CNN news article, "Bush...campaigned on a pledge to treat China as a 'strategic competitor' rather than a 'strategic partner'," the policy it claimed Clinton was pursing. The arms deal under consideration was initiated under the Clinton administration.

Qian also expressed concern with the fact that Taiwan's acquisition of the Aegis-capable vessels could allow Taiwan to link into a future U.S. missile defense system that would be directed at the Chinese workers state.

U.S. officials have refused to rule out the sale, saying that it would be consistent with Washington's 1979 commitment to Taiwan to provide it with the necessary weapons for defense against the mainland. For their part, Chinese officials have criticized the U.S. government for not sticking to its 1982 pledge that future sales to Taiwan would not increase the quantity and quality of its weapons.

"We don't consult with China on our arms sales to Taiwan," said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher. "We sell to Taiwan what we think is appropriate and necessary to meet their legitimate defensive needs."

The Chinese government has also rejected a suggestion made by U.S. officials that the sale could be put off if China moves its missiles away from the region just across from the Taiwan Strait where they are presently deployed.

"The more weapons you sell, the more we will prepare ourselves in terms of our national defense. This is logical," stated Chinese president Jiang Zemin in an interview published in the March 24 Washington Post. In the same interview Jiang referred to the question of reunification. It is an "internationally recognized fact that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China," he said.

The Bush administration has been stepping up its rhetoric around the Chinese government's violations of human rights, as they seek to press the ruling Chinese bureaucracy for further economic concessions in exchange for supporting its bid to join the World Trade Organization.
 
 
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