Chinese woman accused of shipping paints to Pakistan’s nuclear plant

Washington: A former managing director of a Chinese company secretly exported hundreds of gallons of highly sensitive paint coatings from the US to Pakistan’s Chashma-II nuclear plant, being built with Chinese assistance. Xun Wang exported the high-performance epoxy coatings to the Chashma II nuclear power plant after the US Department of Commerce refused to give license to it to supply the same. The Chashma II nuclear reactor, owned and operated by the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, was slapped with sanctions in the aftermath of its 1998 nuclear tests. Federal investigative agencies told a US court this week that after the request was denied, the Chinese executives decided to use Dalian Shi Zi Kou nuclear reactor under construction as a “cover” for the supply of all critical paint for the Pakistani nuclear reactor. Xun, who illegally shipped US paints to Pakistan through China, was arrested by the US authorities on June 16 while she was trying to flee the country. She is accused of conspiring to exporting and re-exporting specially designed, high-performance epoxy coatings to the Chashma 2 Nuclear Power Plant in Pakistan. (PTI)