NEW DELHI -- It speaks volumes that just when the United States determined that China was engaged in clandestine missile trade with Pakistan and, to a lesser extent, Iran, Washington announced that it was waiving a law requiring imposition of economic sanctions in such a situation. The unmistakable message the U.S. conveyed is that as long as proliferation does not directly impact on U.S. interests, it is always willing to cut a deal with Beijing.
In essence, the latest deal is just like earlier nonproliferation deals with Beijing: It is based on a combination of Chinese promises and U.S. rewards. The unchanging story since the Chinese-U.S. nuclear-cooperation agreement of 1985 has been that each time Washington discovers that China has reneged on a promise, it presents new carrots to wheedle out another Chinese promise. And every new Chinese promise is packaged by Washington as a major breakthrough.
The litter of broken Chinese assurances, however, shows that Washington has been rewarding Beijing for promises made, not promises kept. U.S. policy vividly illustrates the adage that "insanity is doing the same thing over and over while hoping for a different result."