The United States has said it is carefully reviewing the Chinese decision to build two nuclear power plants in Pakistan and asked the atomic power countries to honour their non-proliferation commitments.
“I think this is something that is still under discussion among all of us. Obviously it's important from our perspective that all countries live up to their commitments,” said Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg at the Brookings Institute — a Washington-based think tank.
Despite reservations from the members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), the China Nuclear Corporation has agreed to finance two additional civilian reactors in Pakistan.
“The Chinese have argued that it's grandfathered. This is something that we haven't I think reached a final conclusion on. But it's something we're obviously looking at very carefully,” said Mr. Steinberg.
“I think it's important to scrupulously honour these non-proliferation commitments. So we'll want to continue to engage on the question, about whether this is permitted under the understandings of the IAEA.”
The State Department official said the U.S. had intensified its discussion with China on its role in South Asia, Afghanistan and Pakistan in particular.
While Special U.S. Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke has been to Beijing several times, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake held U.S.-China Strategic Sub-Dialogue on South Asia this month. “We have had an intensified conversation with China on these issues.
Objectives
Ambassador Holbrooke has been to Beijing several times. We've had conversations both in Beijing and elsewhere. The Chinese have participated in a number of the multilateral meetings involving Afghanistan. And I think our objectives are largely coincident in Afghanistan.”
“I think we all seek a stable Afghanistan that's has an inclusive government that's responsive to its people; and a particular concern to both of us, that it does not harbour violent extremists that can pose a threat to the United States, Afghanistan's neighbours and the international community as a whole.
So I think that the basic framework within which we approach these things does have a shared set of interests,” said Mr. Steinberg. Welcoming Chinese economic investment in Afghanistan, he said creating jobs and economic opportunity is part of a long-term strategy for a stable Afghanistan. “Similarly, with respect to Pakistan, we think that China can play an important role in helping strengthen the capacity of the Pakistan government to meet the needs of its people and to provide an alternative to the extremism which threatens the Pakistani state as well as the rest of us,” he said.
