State Department Noon Briefing

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2001 1:15 P.M.
(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)

Q: Richard, the Chinese again have denied that they have people in
Iraq. You said yesterday you wanted a further explanation. Have they
given it to you and/or do you accept what they're saying today as the
final answer?

MR. BOUCHER: No, we still expect to get a more detailed response from
the Chinese.

Q: So you haven't heard back yet?

MR. BOUCHER: We haven't heard anything new, no.

Q: Richard, there's been some reports out of Oman quoting diplomats as
saying that the number of Chinese in Baghdad has quadrupled in the
last month. I'm just wondering - I'm not asking you to talk about
that, but yesterday we were asking about numbers. Is there - do you
--

MR. BOUCHER: I don't have any numbers for you that I can share.

Q: But is it hundreds of workers? Are we talking about thousands? Or
you just don't know?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't think I can even give you an order of magnitude.

Q: Are you saying, then, that what China said today in Beijing is
wrong?

MR. BOUCHER: I haven't seen what China said today in Beijing.

Q: Well, they denied that there are any Chinese there and they said
the US is just trying to change the subject about Iraq.

MR. BOUCHER: I think, you know, we've made clear in January to the
Chinese that we were concerned about the presence of Chinese firms in
Iraq doing work in telecommunications and in area particularly optical
fiber projects. We made quite clear our concerns in January. We have
continued to pursue this. The Secretary raised it yesterday, and we do
still expect to get a response from the Chinese.

Q: You just used the plural word. You said "projects." What beyond the
one that we know about is the US concerned about?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't know what the one that you know about is. I have
not spoken here of any particular --

Q: The one that we ostensibly tried to bomb last week.

MR. BOUCHER: I have not asserted that that was a particular project. I
have not asserted any particular project.

Q: Okay. Well, what beyond the one that we think we know is the one
that the Chinese - (laughter) --

MR. BOUCHER: I don't accept the premise. I just can't accept the
premise. I'm sorry.

Q: You're not going - so you don't want to go into where these
projects are or what - MR. BOUCHER: I don't want to confirm any
particular project by advertence or inadvertence or implication.

Q: Well, if we lay that project aside, are you able to give us any
examples of projects that the Chinese are currently working on?

MR. BOUCHER: I am not in a position to do that.