China says NSG door not shut on India: Chinese Media

TIL Desk/World/Beijing-Ahead of Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to India, China’s state-run media said the door for India’s admission into the NSG is “not tightly” closed and New Delhi should “fully comprehend” Beijing’s concerns over the disputed South China Sea.

Terming that India and China are partners not rivals, a commentary by state-run news agency said “as Beijing and New Delhi head into a season of intensive top-level diplomatic encounters that could well define the future of their partnership, the two need to work together to keep their disagreements in check”. “What should be noted above all else is that India has wrongly blamed China for blocking its entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG),” it said.

“So far, there is no precedent for a non-Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) signatory to become a NSG member. Many inside the body that monitors the global flow of nuclear materials insist prudence in handing a membership card to any non-treaty party,” it said in apparent reference to China’s persistent demand that signing the NPT is a must for the entry of new members into the 48-member body which controls global nuclear commerce.