Thursday, March 2 2006 16:42 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Beijing: China today (Mar 02 2006) reacted cautiously to the historic Indo-US nuclear deal, hoping that it would meet the global non-proliferation regime's parameters while seeking early accession by "non-signatory" nations to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to ensure regional and global peace and stability.

"This cooperation must meet the requirements and provisions of the international non-proliferation regime and the obligations undertaken by all countries concerned," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told sources here when asked to comment on the Indo-US nuclear deal, the centrepiece of the state visit of US President George W Bush to India.

"China is clear on the issues in US-India nuclear cooperation," he said. "Currently, the international community is working hard to strengthen the authority and efficacy of the international nuclear non-proliferation regime. China hopes relevant countries for cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy can contribute to these efforts."

Asked to comment on China's stand on nuclear non-proliferation, Qin said NPT plays a crucial role in preventing proliferation of nuclear weapons, facilitating nuclear disarmament and the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

"As a signatory to the NPT, China hopes that non-signatories can as nuclear weapon free countries, join the treaty as soon as possible so as to make their contribution to non-proliferation regime and peace and stability in the region and the world," he said.

Commenting on the Indo-US relations

Commenting on the warming Indo-US relations, especially the military cooperation, the spokesman said China welcomes the development of "normal" ties between India and the US.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry had said on Tuesday that "we welcome the development of the normal and friendly relations between India and US, with the hope that the favourable development of bilateral relations will benefit the peace and stability in the Asian region."

China's official media had earlier firmly opposed the Indo-US deal. In a recent article, The 'Renmin Ribao' (People's Daily), the mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC), had commented that the Indo-US nuclear deal would "undermine" the global non-proliferation efforts.