Following the statement made by Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj that China holds no objection to New Delhi's entry into the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), Beijing said that its stance does not target any particular country, but applies to all non-NPT countries.
"China maintains that the NSG will fully discuss the accession of non-NPT countries and make decisions based on consultation in a way acceptable to all. China's stance does not target any particular country, but applies to all non-NPT countries," said Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying.
Hua said that China has made it clear that NSG meetings have never put the accession of any specific non-NPT countries on their agenda.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson said the upcoming NSG Plenary Meeting in Seoul on June 23 will not cover the matter as well.
"It is worth noting that NSG meetings have never put the accession of any specific non-NPT countries on their agenda. The upcoming NSG Plenary Meeting in Seoul will not cover this issue either. Therefore, there is no point talking about supporting or opposing the entry of a particular non-NPT country at this moment," she said.
"I understand that all parties follow closely the accession of non-NPT countries. Yet the group members remain divided on this issue, thus the conditions are not ripe for the Seoul Plenary Meeting to talk about particular non-NPT countries' accession," she added.
Hua pointed out that Beijing maintains that the NSG fully discuss the accession of non-NPT countries and make decisions based on consultation in a way acceptable to all.
Regarding Indian Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar visit to China on June 16-17, where he expressed New Delhi's willingness to join the NSG, she said, "The Chinese side understood India's need to develop nuclear energy. Meanwhile, China reaffirmed the importance of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) as the cornerstone of the international non-proliferation regime, stressing that the group remained divided on the accession of non-NPT countries."
She said that China's calls on further and thorough discussions within the group in order to make decisions based on consultation.
India and Pakistan, both are bidding for the membership to NSG, with New Delhi already being backed by many countries, including the U.S., and Islamabad by Beijing.
During the NSG agenda meeting held in Vienna on June 9, Beijing had claimed that India was not part of the discussion.
