China keeps cards close to chest ahead of NSG meeting

Ahead of the crucial NSG meeting to decide on nuclear commerce with India, China today chose to keep its cards close to its chest but harped on maintaining the "integrity and effectiveness" of the non-proliferation regime while backing the "peaceful" use of atomic energy.     

"China believes all countries, while adhering to their international obligations of nuclear non-proliferation, has the right of peaceful use of nuclear energy and to carry out international cooperation in this regard," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told PTI here.     

"Meanwhile, relevant cooperation should be conducive to the integrity and effectiveness of maintaining the international non-proliferation regime," Qin said in reply to a question on China's stand at the meeting of the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Vienna beginning tomorrow.     

China had not opposed the India-specific safeguards agreement at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on August 1. Following that, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had sent Prithviraj Chavan, Minister of State in PM's Office, to Beijing as his envoy to lobby support for the deal at the NSG.     

Last week, National Security Adviser M K Narayanan had praised China for adopting a 'very correct' position on supporting the Indo-US nuclear deal at the IAEA and hoped of a similar stance from Beijing at the NSG meeting.