Washington DC – October 21, 1997 – The Clinton administration is poised to ease current U.S. restrictions on launches of American-made satellites and commercial spacecraft aboard Chinese Long March launch vehicles, Washington sources tell SpaceCast in an exclusive report. The decision will be made part of a package of trade and technological exchanges between the U.S. and Communist China and announced by President Clinton during next week's state visit of Chinese President Jiang Zemin to Washington.

The decision, reached weeks ago and approved by both the State and Defense

Departments, will ease Chinese commercial sales of their Long March 3A, B,

C, and 2E launchers, which are capable of lifting both communications

satellites to geostationary orbit and other commercial space platforms to

low orbits from launch sites in China. The restrictions that remain in

place will still require China to abide by the so-called "Rules of the

Road" agreements that control what prices non-capitalist countries can

charge customers for launch services. An earlier agreement between

Washington and Beijing on commercial space launches had expired, although

Vice President Gore and the U.S. Trade Representative's office had

continued discussions, most recently last spring with the visitation of a

Chinese negotiating team to DC. The restrictions maintained a fixed number

of Chinese rockets that could be used to launch American-made satellites.

Since the U.S. makes most of the communications satellites flown, the

restrictions were viewed by China as significant barriers to trade.

Others, however, have pointed to Chinese launch vehicle sales as means by

which China could get more technology from the satellites that fly as

payloads aboard their rockets. Some have suggested that China has "reversed

engineered" some spacecraft packaged for launch from the Xichang Space

Center, thereby learning more about satellite manufacturing and advanced

technology. China has called such claims absurd, and unnecessary for the

nation to advance in the technology needed for space systems.