The new policy will spare the need for US exporters in critical sectors such as semiconductor equipment and electronics to apply for licenses for sales to companies in China.

It will also ensure closer scrutiny of key technology purchasers in China, a senior US Department of Commerce official said.

The changes to Washington's so-called China Export Control Policy will achieve "growth in civilian high-tech trade and enhanced security," undersecretary of commerce for industry and security David McCormick said.

"These changes to technology export controls for China are a 'win-win'", he told a forum of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

McCormick said Washington would urge other nations, particularly in Europe and Japan, to take similar steps.

But he stressed that Chinese companies must demonstrate an established record of nonproliferation and "responsible civilian use" of US high-tech products if they wanted to be importers under the new policy.

"This process will require unprecedented openness and cooperation on the part of Chinese companies. And it will create incentives for them to demonstrate good faith and sound practices.

"In addition, it will allow US government officials to focus on more complex cases with more severe implications for American security," he said.

The new policy, McCormick emphasized, would prevent exports of technologies for incorporation into Chinese weapons systems.

For example, he said, US policy should facilitate sales of American-made semiconductors to companies in China for use in stereos or a childs Game Boy, but not for advanced missile systems or submarines.

Similarly, the cutting edge composite technology that helps China build commercial aircraft must not also find its way into the Super-7 next generation fighter aircraft, he said.

The United States has been worried that China would use imported sensitive high-technology products in its rapidly expanding military modernization program, being implemented under a defense budget with little transparency.

A recent study by the RAND corporation, a US non-profit institution, said China wanted to strengthen its military capabilities by acquiring advanced, dual-use technologies and incorporating them into defense systems, noting that Beijing's military budget has risen faster than its overall economy.

US high-tech exports to China last year reached more than 12 billion dollars and the new licensing flexibility would further open up "potentially hundreds of millions of dollars" worth of American sales to Chinese companies, McCormick said.

McCormick said the United States would not use a wide-ranging "catch-all regulation" under the new policy to prevent exports of technologies for incorporation into Chinese weapons systems.

It will not subject "everything from fountain pens to office furniture" to government scrutiny.

"Rather, these changes carefully target certain technologies that, while unrestricted until now, have the potential to materially enhance Chinas military capabilities," he said.

"And we will continue to conduct on-the-ground spot checks in China to reduce the risk that civilian exports are diverted to third parties or to Chinas own military purposes."

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