Inside Report (6)

September 18, 1981

Don't look for early US arms sales to China now that the chinese deputy chief of staff, Liu Huaqing, isn't coming to the United States In September. General Liu originally was invited to come in August, at least partly to discuss the types of weapons it would be interested in buying. Washington asked for a one-month delay in order to form a unified view on this controversial issue within the administration. Now the Chinese seem to be stalling until they get a clearer view of Reagan policy on the complicated Taiwan issue.

The first top-Level, air-clearing meeting between Washington and the Chinese now will take place at Cancun, Mexico, in October when President Reagan has a tete a tete with Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang while both attend the North-South summit.m