CHINA: CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION (CWC)

S E C R E T BEIJING 002873 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AND EAP/CM, ISN/CB AND VCI/CCA THE HAGUE FOR CWC DEL E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/14/2019 TAGS: PARM PREL CWC OPCW CBW CH AL JA SUBJECT: CHINA: CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION (CWC) CONSULTATIONS DEMARCHE DELIVERED REF: STATE 106330 (NOTAL) Classified By: Regional Unit Chief Mark Lambert. Reasons 1.4 (b) and ( d). ¶1. (S) PolOff delivered reftel nonpaper and demarche requesting China to include subject matter experts in its delegation for bilateral CWC consultation with the United States to MFA Arms Control and Disarmament Department Chemical and Biological Weapons Division Director Yang Yi on October 15. PolOff asked that those experts be prepared to discuss both technical matters surrounding China's inspection of chemical storage facilities in Albania and a chemical plant accident in China in 2000 that involved Nitrogen Mustard. Yang told PolOff that she had not been a member of China's delegation during our last consultations in June, 2007 so was not familiar with the topics discussed at that time, but acknowledged the need to include technical experts in the Chinese delegation to make the upcoming discussions worthwhile. Yang promised to pass our detailed requests outlined in reftel to her Director General. ¶2. (S) Yang also requested PolOff to ask the Department whether the U.S. delegation agreed to include as agenda items in the upcoming consultations "Chemical Weapons Destruction" and "The status of Japanese abandoned chemical weapons in China." PolOff promised to relay to ISN that request. HUNTSMAN