Monday, June 6 2005 20:34 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Beijing: China today (Jun 6, 2005) expressed willingness to cooperate with India in the sensitive nuclear power sector under the guidelines of the UN nuclear watchdog and other concerned international agencies.

"My personal feeling is that cooperation can be carried out with India as long as nuclear technology is for the purpose of economic growth and is guided by relevant rules and regulations of International Atomic Energy Agency and other concerned agencies," general manager of the China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC), Kang Rixin told a press conference in Beijing.

At the same time, Kang denied any links with the clandestine nuclear programmes of Iran, North Korea or Libya.

He also asserted that CNNC's cooperation with Pakistan, the only foreign country in which the company has publicly acknowledged its presence, was only for "peaceful purposes".

Kang noted that construction activities for the second 300 MW plant at the Chashma Nuclear Power Plant for which China and Pakistan signed an agreement in May 2004 would commence soon.

Responding to questions on China's energy crunch and the importance of nuclear energy, he said Beijing expects the share of its power supplied by nuclear generation to grow to four per cent by 2020 from 2.3 per cent today.