Boom in China's arms sales

WASHINGTON (AP) - China's weapons trade, long a matter of concern to the United States, has been stepped up in the waning days of the Bush administration in apparent anticipation that Bill Clinton will take a harder line toward Peking's arms sales.

US government sources said the sales included deals for missile technology and other weapons, as well as import and re-export of some Russian arms. Customers include Syria, Iran, Pakistan, and possibly Libya. 'There is an explosion of deals in the making, and the Chinese are clearly number one in the middle of it,' said a source.