Briefing media persons here yesterday on the issues he had discussed with Chinese officials during his recent trip to the Communist country, he discounted the belief in some quarters that anything that the US might sell or transfer to China and is licensed under the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) would inevitably transfer missile technology to China.

``If we agree that a US company can launch a satellite on a Chinese rocket, that requires an export licence,'' Holum explained. ``But whenever that's done, it's done under a strict technology security plan so that no technology related to that satellite is transferred to China.''He however, said if China were a MTCR member, licencing could be expedited. But, China would not attain any missile technology as a result of the licence, he said.