Modi meets Xi, seeks help for India NSG bid
India’s case should be judged on its merits: PM
In a last-ditch effort to press China to give its consent to India’s NSG entry application, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday “urged” Chinese President Xi Jinping to make a “fair and objective” assessment of India’s bid.
At their crucial 50minute bilateral meeting in the Uzbek city of Tashkent, Mr Modi, while asking that China “contribute to the emerging consensus” in favour of India's admission to the NSG at Seoul, said that China should “judge” India’s case on its own merits. There was no official word on the Chinese reaction. But Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain, in his separate meeting with the Chinese President, opposed India’s entry, saying any “exception” in granting membership to the NSG will “disturb” strategic stability in South Asia. He reportedly made a case for Pakistan to join the 48-member NSG. Perhaps in an indication of things to come, President Xi Jinping told his Pakistani counterpart that Pakistan and China are “iron brothers” and that both nations enjoy an all-weather strategic cooperative partnership.
Beijing, June 23: China on Thursday sought to de-link its opposition to India’s membership of NSG from Sino-Indian ties saying that it does not concern the bilateral relationship.
China-India bilateral relations have maintained “sound momentum” and the issue of India’s admission into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) does not concern bilateral ties, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Tashkent.
“President Xi met Prime Minister Modi in Tashkent. We believe that series of exchanges of visits will deepen our strategic consensus, strategic mutual trust and future development of bilateral relationship,” Hua told media briefing here.
On the state of bilateral ties, she said, “we have repeatedly made positive comments on development ties between India and China . Both are emerging markets that are acquiring more and more significant role in the international affairs,” she said.
The bilateral relations have maintained sound momentum of growth, thanks to the mutual visits of the leaders by the two countries, she said.
“We have agreed that we would make joint efforts to develop closely knit relationship. Recently President of India Pranab Mukherjee also paid a successful visit to China,” she said.
On whether India, China differences over India’s admission into the NSG would effect relations, Hua said, “on the NSG issue, we have been expounding on our position on this issue.
We believe that with regard to the admission of new members a decision shall be made with through discussion within the group”.
“We do not believe that it is an issue concerning the bilateral relationship between China and India,” she said.
China is for consensus among the 48-member group about the admission of countries which have not signed the NPT. — PTI