Without adopting a confrontational tone, Chinese state media, led by the flagship China Central Television (CCTV) has provided lively coverage of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington, including New Delhi’s proposed membership to the coveted Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).
Ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit, the CCTV in its report cited two main issues that would engage Mr. Modi during his visit: the military logistics agreement that the two sides had earlier agreed in principle, and New Delhi’s proposed entry to the NSG -- the 48-member body that steers the flow of nuclear commerce, and ensures that nuclear material that can be used for bombs does not seep out of the exclusive club.
“Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi comes to the United States expecting to close a deal for deeper defence cooperation begun by his defence chief in April,” said the report.
India’s perception of U.S.
On the NSG, CCTV cited New Delhi’s perception of Washington as a “key ally” that would shepherd India into the NSG. It added that Italy and China have opposed India’s membership, by insisting that like other members, India “must first ratify the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.”
The report cited China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang as saying in May: “We have talked about our position many times. The NSG is an important part of the international nuclear non-proliferation regime which is based on the cornerstone of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).”
Brazil set a precedent
However, diplomatic sources say that Brazil has set precedence, where, despite not being a NPT signatory, it was admitted into the NSG in 1992, after it signed the Treaty of Tlatelolco, opening the door for Latin American nuclear weapons free zone. The NSG then saw equivalence between this treaty and the NPT.
Referring to nuclear commerce, CCTV cited media remarks by the India’s Ambassador to the U.S. that negotiations for a deal with Westinghouse for building six nuclear power plants in India were in an advanced
stage. It added that the talks had hinged on New Delhi and Washington developing a new workaround to India’s civilian nuclear liability law considered a sizeable hurdle for the country’s nuclear-suitors.
An insurance product
“What we have come up with is an insurance product ... primarily led by India government owned insurance companies to out money in a pool. That suppliers can buy into that would absolve them or at least pay off claims that arise from some type of nuclear accident in the future. We are all waiting to see whether Westinghouse and other suppliers look at this insurance product as good enough for them to make the bet at becoming suppliers for India,” it quoted Rick Rossow of the Center for Strategic and International Studies as saying.
China’s AP-1000 reactors safest
China has already commissioned four AP-1000 reactors, which Westinghouse says are among the world's safest and most reasonably priced. CCTV reports also noted the possible deal on surveillance drones and the growing partnership between India and the U.S. on renewable energy and climate change.
In a prime time studio interview broadcast by CCTV on Thursday, Haiyan Wang of the China-India Institute said that Mr. Modi’s visit to the U.S. should be viewed in a long-term perspective, in anticipation of the presence of China, India and the U.S. as the top three global players of the future.
China, U.S., India must unite
“[If] we see it form a long- term horizon say from 2030-2035, those three countries will be the largest economies. Already the three are the biggest emitters. So any of the global issues, whether it is economic growth, whether it is prosperity or whether it is elimination of poverty, climate change, security, renewable energy, [for] all of those major issues the world needs these three to cooperate.”
