Stepping up its diplomatic outreach to China ahead of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) plenary in Seoul, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar made a trip to Beijing this week to try and win China’s backing for India’s membership.
China has been leading a group of countries of the 48-member NSG that is holding out against giving India membership.
Confirming Jaishankar’s unannounced trip to Beijing, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup said that the Foreign Secretary was in China from June 16-17.
The visit was for bilateral consultations with his Chinese counterpart. All major issues, including India’s NSG membership, were discussed.Vikas Swarup, MEA Spokesperson
The NSG, which controls global nuclear trade, is to hold an important plenary from June 23-24 in Seoul when the membership applications of India and Pakistan are set to be taken up.
India has got the backing of most countries for admission to the NSG, including the US, Britain, Italy, Mexico and Switzerland.
China is opposing India’s membership on the grounds that it is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and if the rule is relaxed for India, it should be done for Pakistan as well.
Jaishankar’s meeting with Chinese leaders comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, where he is due to take up the issue during his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on June 23 during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit meeting.
India and Pakistan are set to be formally inducted as members of the China-led SCO at the meeting. Russia has strongly backed India’s entry to the NSG and has reportedly offered to take up the matter of India’s membership with China.
Chinese media has said that India’s entry to the NSG will “shake the strategic balance in South Asia and even cast a cloud over peace and stability in the entire Asia-Pacific region”. The state-run Global Times daily, in an opinion piece, said that China could support India’s inclusion to the elite nuclear club if India “played by the rules”.
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