"Building a Global Strategic Framework for the 21st Century"
Fourth U.S.-China Conference on Arms Control, Disarmament and Nonproliferation

Hosted by
The Monterey Institute of International Studies

Note: Items below are in PDF format. View the full Conference Report. (36 pages, 608 kb.) Executive Summary: Chinese Translation (2 pages, 193 kb.) Japanese Translation (4 pages, 152 kb.)

Conference Setting

From 4 - 5 March 2002, the Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) at Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS) hosted the "Fourth U.S.-China Conference on Arms Control, Disarmament and Nonproliferation" in Washington, D.C. CNS/MIIS co-organized the conference with the China Institute of International Studies (CIIS). The topic of this year's conference was "Building a Global Strategic Framework for the 21st Century."

Participants of the Fourth U.S.-China Conference on Arms Control, Disarmament and Nonproliferation, March 2002.

This MIIS-CIIS "Track 1 1/2" bilateral conference was the fourth in a series of conferences held between the arms control communities in the United States and China. It brought together high-level officials and scholars from both countries for a frank and substantive exchange on a range of arms control, nonproliferation and WMD terrorism issues. The Chinese delegation was headed by Liu Jieyi, Director General for Arms Control and Disarmament in the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Several senior U.S. government officials from various departments attended, including Assistant Secretary of State for Nonproliferation John Wolf.

From left to right: Assistant Secretary of State Avis Bohlen, Director General Liu Jieyi (Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Assistant Secretary of State John Wolf, Dr. William Potter (Director, Center for Nonproliferation Studies, MIIS).

The conference opened on the morning of 4 March with welcoming remarks by Ambassador Yang Chengxu (President of CIIS) and Dr. William Potter (Director of CNS), followed by introductory remarks from Director General Liu Jieyi and Assistant Secretary of State John Wolf. Ambassador Yang expressed the hope that the conference would contribute to the greater understanding between both sides, especially in the fields of arms control and nonproliferation. Dr. Potter highlighted the important role that non-governmental organizations play in the process of facilitating bilateral progress on arms control and nonproliferation. Director General Liu saw the conference as a bridge to enhance the mutual understanding between the United States and China and to assist bilateral relations in the face of new challenges to strategic stability. Assistant Secretary Wolf urged the United States and China to manage their differences in a candid and mutually beneficial way.

The conference began with a panel on conceptual approaches to "Strategic Stability" chaired by Bates Gill of the Brookings Institution, with presentations by Pan Zhenqiang of the National Defense University, Yao Yunzhu of the Academy of Military Science, and Brad Roberts of the Institute for Defense Analyses. The discussion focused on defining and contrasting U.S. and Chinese views on the conceptual basis of strategic stability. It also examined the impact of September 11th on U.S. views on strategic stability, nuclear deterrence and the future of arms control.

A second panel on the policy issues affecting "Strategic Stability" was chaired by Ye Ru'an of the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association (CACDA), with presentations by Robert Soofer from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Xia Hailin from the Chinese Ministry of Defense, and Zhu Feng from Beijing University. This panel explored the differences and similarities in U.S. and Chinese views on current policy issues affecting strategic stability such as missile defense and the ABM Treaty. The participants discussed specific policy steps which could be taken to ensure stable strategic relations in the future.

The first day ended with a panel chaired by Bonnie Glaser, an independent consultant, discussing the "New Strategic Framework for Arms Control." Li Daozhong of the China Institute for International Strategic Studies and Robert Gromoll from the Department of State's Bureau of Arms Control made presentations. The discussion examined the strengths and weaknesses of current arms control regimes, prospects for greater reliance on reciprocal unilateral arms control measures, and what issues should be on the international arms control agenda.

From left to right: William Potter, Ye Ru'an, Gary Samore, Yao Yunzhu, John Parachini, Xia Hailin, Bonnie Glaser.

The second day of the conference (5 March) first addressed the topic of "Nonproliferation Challenges and Opportunities." The first panel was chaired by Pan Zhenqiang from the National Defense University and included presentations by Mark Fitzpatrick from the Department of State's Bureau of Nonproliferation and Ye Ru'an of CACDA This panel addressed the problems faced by nonproliferation regimes at present and the challenges expected in the future. The discussions addressed U.S. and Chinese perspectives on the most critical proliferation threats, the issue of compliance, and the tools available to address current nonproliferation challenges.

Robert Einhorn chaired a panel entitled: "Bilateral Areas of Arms Control and Nonproliferation Cooperation."

The next panel, chaired by Robert Einhorn of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, addressed "Bilateral Areas of Arms Control and Nonproliferation Cooperation." This panel included presentations from Wang Xiaolin of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Gary Samore of the International Institute of Strategic Studies. This panel examined positive areas of bilateral cooperation and addressed how continued bilateral disagreements could be managed. Participants also addressed ways to protect cooperation on nonproliferation from the downturns in the broader Sino-U.S. relationship.

The final panel looked at the issues of "Nonproliferation and WMD Terrorism." This panel was chaired by Director General Liu Jieyi from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The presenters were John Parachini from the RAND Corporation and Shen Dingli from Fudan University in Shanghai. This panel looked at the threat of WMD terrorism and its implications for proliferation. Participants agreed that WMD terrorism posed a significant threat to both the United States and China, and that the two countries had a unique opportunity to cooperate in addressing this threat.

[View the full Conference Agenda.]

The fourth conference included interesting and productive discussions covering a wide range of arms control and nonproliferation topics. The quality of representation and the depth of expertise was high on both the U.S. and the Chinese delegations. Once again, the conference proved to be an ideal forum for substantive, frank, and highly constructive unofficial discussions between senior officials and scholars from the United States and China. In addition, Director General Liu Jieyi and Assistant Secretary of State John Wolf held "positive and productive" official consultations on nonproliferation issues following the conference.

John Parachini and Xia Hailin.

The conference highlighted considerable agreement between the two sides on the threat posed by proliferation of WMD and by the potential threat of WMD terrorism. The Chinese side emphasized the role of multilateral treaties and regimes in addressing proliferation challenges. American participants stressed the need for more attention to compliance with nonproliferation commitments, and the emerging role for unilateral measures to deter and respond to possible WMD use. In terms of strategic stability, American participants emphasized their desire to move beyond mutually assured destruction to nuclear deterrence policies that are tailored to specific threats and which also utilize strategic defenses. Chinese participants argued that missile defenses were destabilizing and felt that China could not allow the credibility of its nuclear deterrent to be eroded by U.S. missile defenses. Both sides agreed that strategic dialogue between the United States and China could play an important role in maintaining strategic stability. Participants agreed that the conference was a major success and that the frankness of the discussions demonstrated the maturation of the relationship between the two sides. The conference also reinforced the fact that the partnership between CIIS and CNS is extremely useful for promoting unofficial dialogue on sensitive arms control and nonproliferation issues.

The conference had 21 formal participants from the U.S. (with an additional 15 observers) and 17 participants from China. [View the full Participants List.]

Organizations and institutions represented included the following:

United States

• Monterey Institute of International Studies (Host)
• Brookings Institution
• Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
• Center for Strategic and International Studies
• CNA Corporation
• Defense Threat Reduction Agency (observer)
• Department of Defense
• Department of Energy
• Department of State
• Embassy of the United States of America, Beijing
• George Washington University
• Henry L. Stimson Center (observer)
• Institute for Defense Analyses
• International Institute for Strategic Studies
• National Security Council
• Office of the Secretary of Defense
• RAND Corporation

China

• China Institute of International Studies (Co-organizer)
• Academy of Military Science
• Beijing University
• China Arms Control and Disarmament Association
• China Institute for International Strategic Studies
• Embassy of the People's Republic of China, Washington, D.C.
• Fudan University
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Ministry of National Defense
• National Defense University
• Permanent Mission of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations, New York