US protests at Israeli radar system sale

On the eve of the first trip to Israel by a Chinese head of state, Bill Clinton will make a final effort tomorrow to persuade the Israelis to jettison plans to sell an advanced airborne radar system to Peking.

The US President will meet the Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Barak, in Washington for talks about the Middle East peace negotiations, but he is also expected to raise his long-held opposition to Israel's plans to sell its Phalcon radar system to China. The meeting comes only a day before Jiang Zemin, the Chinese President, is due to arrive in Israel and the Palestinian Authority for a six-day visit, during which he will seek to finalise the deal.

America believes the system could be used to help shoot down Taiwanese and even US jets, should war break out over Taiwan. Israel has already signed a $250m (£160m) contract for one Phalcon-equipped aircraft; China has options on several more.

William Cohen, the US Defense Secretary, made clear his opposition during his last visit to Israel. Last week, the chairman of the US Congress's Appropriations Sub-Committee on Foreign Operations, Sonny Callahan, said he would seek to block $250m of the almost $3bn in military and economic aid that Israel is expecting from the US this year.

The White House took a softer stance, saying it is too early to cut Israel's aid. But its spokesman, Joe Lockhart, warned this weekend that cuts had not been ruled out.