Chasing the Dragon, Assessing China's System of Export Controls for WMD-Related Goods and Technologies

Abstract

The Chinese government's system of export controls on sensitive equipment, materials, and technologies used to produce weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and WMD delivery systems has undergone a significant evolution in the past 25 years. Chinese export controls have evolved since the early 1980s from highly underdeveloped and ineffective administrative procedures to a comprehensive collection of laws, regulations, circulars, and measures that incorporate the prevailing standards for international export control. The central government in recent years has also made efforts to improve interagency coordination on export control decisions. However, the Chinese government's inability to consistently and effictively implement and enforce these new controls is a persistent and glaring weakness of the current system. Further improvements will be gradual, and mixed, unless the Chinese government devotes more resources and political capital to bolstering its export control practices. Such an effort serves as a key indicator of the government's ability to fulfill its stated goal of acting like a "responsible major power" in global affairs, especially as related to WMD nonproliferation.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2005
Accession Number
ADA439064

Entities

People

  • Evan S. Medeiros

Organizations

  • RAND Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Arms Control
  • Arms Control Treaties
  • Chemical Industry
  • Chemical Weapons
  • Commerce
  • Economic Development
  • Foreign Relations
  • Interagency Coordination
  • International Organizations
  • International Relations
  • International Trade
  • National Security
  • Nuclear Energy
  • Nuclear Materials
  • Treaties
  • War Colleges
  • Weapons Of Mass Destruction

Readers

  • Defense Acquisition Program Management
  • Nuclear Non-Proliferation and International Security
  • Strategic Security Studies