By IRNA,
New Delhi : Moderating its stand on an Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) waiver for India, China has said that all countries are entitled to make peaceful use of nuclear energy.
Asian giants India and China held high-level talks on Monday amid tension over Beijing’s perceived reluctance to support New Delhi’s civilian nuclear ambitions.
New Delhi’s inclusion into the NSG, which was approved on Saturday, is crucial for energy-hungry India to buy nuclear fuel, technology and reactors to power its booming economy.
Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi met his counterpart Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi, media reports said quoting Indian foreign ministry officials.
China had expressed concerns over lifting the ban since India, which had been denied access to civilian nuclear technology because it tested a nuclear weapon in 1974, is not a member of the Nuclear Non- proliferation Treaty.
But India finally made a “formal declaration” on Friday to stand by its non-proliferation commitments and uphold its moratorium on tests, and China withdrew its earlier opposition.
A foreign ministry official said India’s disappointment with China’s stance at the NSG followed “repeated assurances” from President Hu Jintao that they would not oppose a consensus on the entry of New Delhi.
Meanwhile, after its unexpected opposition in Vienna, China on Monday welcomed the NSG granting a waiver to India to engage in nuclear commerce, but hoped this cooperation should be “conducive” to safeguarding the global nuclear non-proliferation efforts.
“China hopes that the decision will contribute to peaceful use of nuclear energy and international cooperation on nuclear non- proliferation,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
China had joined hold-out countries like Austria, New Zealand and Ireland which insisted on incorporating their concerns in the waiver but later relented after the US pushed hard to get the nod of the 45-member nuclear cartel.
Earlier, the Chinese minister who arrived in Kolkata Sunday, met West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee with a 12-member delegation.
Describing the meeting as “good”, Yang said the issue of Chinese investment in West Bengal was discussed and his country would be interested in investing in infrastructure, electricity, telecom and high-tech areas in the state.
With the state now trying to rejuvenate its industry after making rapid strides in agriculture, “we can increase exchanges to make agriculture more productive,” he said.
Cooperation with the state could also be extended in economic and social areas like sports and education, he said while expressing support for the chief minister’s view that West Bengal was India’s gateway to South and South East Asia.