China warned over weapon links in Iran, Afghanistan

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States has warned Beijing over reported use of Chinese weapons by insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as the Asian giant's continued sale of arms to Iran, Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte said Thursday.

He said he conveyed the concerns personally to Chinese officials during his visit to Beijing this week.

"Just the other day, Monday, when I was in Beijing, this was one of the issues I raised - concern about Chinese weapons or Chinese-designed weapons showing up in some of these battle areas, be it Iraq or Afghanistan," he told a congressional hearing on US-China ties.

Negroponte told the US senators that Washington "made it clear" to Beijing that Chinese entities' continued sale of conventional weapons to Iran "is unacceptable." He said Chinese officials told him "they have scaled way back their sale of conventional weapons to Iran."

"They had relationships previously where they exported these weapons but they have dialled that back," he said.

Negroponte, a former US intelligence czar, said that China understood Washington's position that Iran presented "a grave international and regional security concern."