China promises ‘constructive role’ in India’s NSG bid

In a subtle shift from its previous stand, China today said it would play a "constructive role" in discussions on India's bid for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), a day ahead of an expected meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Tashkent.

In an all-out push for membership of the 48-nation club that controls access to sensitive nuclear technology, the government has dispatched foreign secretary S Jaishankar to Seoul, where the NSG is holding a plenary session.

Jaishankar was earlier supposed to fly with Prime Minister Modi to Tashkent for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meet.

Members of the NSG had three rounds of "unofficial discussions" on India and Pakistan's membership, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told the Press Trust of India, adding that China would "play a constructive role" in the discussions on India.

Modi is expected to meet President Xi on Thursday on the sidelines of the SCO meet. Government sources reportedly said New Delhi sees this as a chance to persuade Beijing to come around as it goes down to the wire for India in Seoul.

China has repeatedly stressed that the grouping is divided over India and has also batted for Pakistan's inclusion if India is granted exemption from signing the Non-Proliferation Treaty for NSG entry. "We did not target any country, India or Pakistan. We only care about the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT)," said the Chinese spokesperson on Tuesday.

The Chinese official said "the door is open" for the admission of non-NPT members "but the members of the NSG should stay focused on whether the criteria should be changed".

China leads opposition to India's membership to the NSG. Turkey, South Africa, Ireland and New Zealand are also against it.

The US has urged NSG members to consider and support India's membership during the Seoul meeting. "We believe, and this has been US policy for some time, that India is ready for membership and the US calls on participating governments to support India's application," White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters.

The NSG works on unanimity and even one "no" vote can scuttle India's bid. The grouping aims to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons by restricting the sale of items that can be used to make those arms.

India already enjoys most of the benefits of NSG membership under a 2008 exemption to NSG rules granted to support its nuclear deal with the US, even though India has developed atomic weapons and never signed the NPT.