After vehemently opposing India’s entry bid for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG), China seems to be softening its stance, or so it appears. Liu Jinsong, Beijing’s envoy to New Delhi has indicated that there is room for negotiation on the issue of NSG, and a solution can be found.
According to an Indian Express report, Liu Jinsong has said that India has not named China as the country responsible for its membership bid being blocked. Jinsong believes that since the Indian statement does not name China, one cannot assume that his country is behind the failed entry bid.
“I don’t want to talk too much about it (NSG issue) and heat it up again. I want to leave time and room for the diplomats to work out a solution,” he said.
Last month, during an NSG plenary meet, China was not the only nation that opposed India’s application for membership. An upset India had blamed “one country” for persistently creating procedural “hurdles” during the discussions of the 48-nation grouping. This was seen was a clear reference to China, which has time and again opposed India’s entry on the grounds that the country has not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
While China’s opposition was on expected lines, in a completely shocking U-turn, Switzerland, who had earlier extended its complete support, opposed India’s bid citing that it is a non-NPT state.
However, NSG is likely to meet again this year, and India hopes to convince the grouping.
A top US official has said that the NSG session ended with a “path forward” for India’s acceptance as a member. “We are confident that we have got a path forward by the end of this year. It needs some work. But we are confident that India would be a full member of the (NSG) regime by the end of the year,” an Obama administration official has said.