WASHINGTON-The Clinton administration, reacting for the first time to a new congressional
report that concluded American satellite exports to China harmed U.S. national security, last week defended U.S.
export controls on authorized technology transfers.
“We believe we have strong export controls but we do
look forward to reading the report and looking at the recommendations to see if there are ways to strengthen our export
controls,” said Joe Lockhart, a White House press spokesman.
On Dec. 30, Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Calif.),
chairman of a select committee on U.S. satellite exports to China, accused the People’s Republic of China of trying to
acquire American technology over the past two decades.
The Justice Department is investigating whether Loral
Corp. and Hughes Electronics Co., two major wireless vendors, unlawfully passed along sensitive technical information
to Communist China.
