China on Monday reiterated that there was no shift in its position either on New Delhi’s inclusion in the 48-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) or on imposition of U.N. sanctions on the chief of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), Masood Azhar.
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“As for India’s application for Nuclear Suppliers Group and listing issue pursuant to resolution of 1267 (to list Masood as a terrorist), China’s position remains unchanged,” China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Geng Shuang, said at a media briefing.
Mr. Geng was responding a question on Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar’s remarks at the first India-China think-tank forum in New Delhi. The Foreign Secretary had proposed that Beijing should not impart a political colour to New Delhi’s efforts to access civilian nuclear technology. He had also regretted that the two countries, despite establishing an elaborate structured relationship, were unable to take a common stand on “fundamentalist terrorism.”
In his response Mr. Geng stressed that, “Thanks to the concerted efforts of China and India, the strategic cooperation between the two sides has made all-round progress.”
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He added, “The two sides have been moving toward establishing a more closely knit strategic partnership for cooperation. As two major developing countries it is only natural for us to not see eye to eye on all issues, but the mainstream of the bilateral relationship is cooperation and the two of us are staying in communication on relevant issues.”
Mr. Geng highlighted that Beijing was looking forward to working with New Delhi to expand bilateral mutually beneficial cooperation and manage differences based on consensus reached by leaders of both countries.
Asked to comment on the U.S. Congress’ readiness to make India a Major Defence Partner of America, Mr. Geng said, “We welcome normal state to state relationship between different countries. We hope that the bilateral relationship and cooperation will be conducive to regional peace and development.”