China confirms nuclear deal with Pakistan

[Hyde]

Civil nuclear ties with Pakistan no violation: China

Chinese official says China's cooperation with Pakistan in energy sector would continue.

BEIJING (Agencies): China on Monday mounted a defence of its on-going and controversial civilian nuclear cooperation with Pakistan, arguing that its exports of nuclear reactors “did not violate the norms” of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), a body that governs global nuclear trade.

According to reports, Chinese companies are reported to be involved in the construction of at least two new reactors at the Chashma nuclear power complex in Pakistan, where China has already built two reactors.

Last month, China and Pakistan reportedly signed another deal for a 1,000 MW reactor at Chashma during a visit by the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission to China between February 15 and 18, according to a Friday report in the Washington Free Beacon that cited U.S. intelligence sources.

Chinese officials on Monday did not deny the Washington Free Beacon s report.

Asked if he could confirm the deal, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei told reporters, “China has noted the relevant report”.

Suggesting that China s cooperation with Pakistan would continue, he said: "I want to point out that relevant cooperation between China and Pakistan does not violate relevant norms of the NSG.

In recent years, China and Pakistan have carried out some cooperation in the field of civilian nuclear cooperation.

All this cooperation is for peaceful use and this cooperation is in compliance with our respective international obligations and subject to the safeguards of the IAEA”.

Agreements signed by the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) in 2009 for two new reactors, Chashma-3 and Chashma-4, had triggered controversy as the deals were struck after China became a member of the NSG, a 46-member body that prohibits the sale of technology to countries that have not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

India had to seek a waiver from the NSG, by undertaking a range of commitments, before its civilian nuclear deal with the U.S. went ahead.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) granted its approval to a safeguards agreement for the two new reactors, Chashma-3 and Chashma-4, in March 2011.

The Washington Free Beacon report left unclear whether the deal for the 1,000 MW reactor was for a new fifth reactor at Chashma, or whether it referred to upgrading an earlier agreement.

When asked about the deals at NSG meetings in 2011, Chinese officials had argued that the two new reactors were “grandfathered” under the earlier deals for Chashma-1 and Chashma-2, which China had already declared as part of its commitments when it joined the body.

Last year, CNNC officials told a conference in Beijing they were in talks to export another 1,000 MW reactor to Pakistan, either to Chashma or to the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant complex.

That China and Pakistan were in negotiations for another deal, despite concerns voiced by some NSG members, was seen at the time as an indication that China was prepared to go ahead with exports, regardless of the group s concerns.

Source: Dunya News: Pakistan:-Civil nuclear ties with Pakistan no violation: Chi...

 

[Xracer]

Civil nuclear ties with Pakistan no violation: China

Chinese official says China's cooperation with Pakistan in energy sector would continue.

BEIJING (Agencies): China on Monday mounted a defence of its on-going and controversial civilian nuclear cooperation with Pakistan, arguing that its exports of nuclear reactors “did not violate the norms” of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), a body that governs global nuclear trade.

According to reports, Chinese companies are reported to be involved in the construction of at least two new reactors at the Chashma nuclear power complex in Pakistan, where China has already built two reactors.

Last month, China and Pakistan reportedly signed another deal for a 1,000 MW reactor at Chashma during a visit by the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission to China between February 15 and 18, according to a Friday report in the Washington Free Beacon that cited U.S. intelligence sources.

Chinese officials on Monday did not deny the Washington Free Beacon s report.

Asked if he could confirm the deal, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei told reporters, “China has noted the relevant report”.

Suggesting that China s cooperation with Pakistan would continue, he said: "I want to point out that relevant cooperation between China and Pakistan does not violate relevant norms of the NSG.

In recent years, China and Pakistan have carried out some cooperation in the field of civilian nuclear cooperation.

All this cooperation is for peaceful use and this cooperation is in compliance with our respective international obligations and subject to the safeguards of the IAEA”.

Agreements signed by the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) in 2009 for two new reactors, Chashma-3 and Chashma-4, had triggered controversy as the deals were struck after China became a member of the NSG, a 46-member body that prohibits the sale of technology to countries that have not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

India had to seek a waiver from the NSG, by undertaking a range of commitments, before its civilian nuclear deal with the U.S. went ahead.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) granted its approval to a safeguards agreement for the two new reactors, Chashma-3 and Chashma-4, in March 2011.

The Washington Free Beacon report left unclear whether the deal for the 1,000 MW reactor was for a new fifth reactor at Chashma, or whether it referred to upgrading an earlier agreement.

When asked about the deals at NSG meetings in 2011, Chinese officials had argued that the two new reactors were “grandfathered” under the earlier deals for Chashma-1 and Chashma-2, which China had already declared as part of its commitments when it joined the body.

Last year, CNNC officials told a conference in Beijing they were in talks to export another 1,000 MW reactor to Pakistan, either to Chashma or to the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant complex.

That China and Pakistan were in negotiations for another deal, despite concerns voiced by some NSG members, was seen at the time as an indication that China was prepared to go ahead with exports, regardless of the group s concerns.

Source: Dunya News: Pakistan:-Civil nuclear ties with Pakistan no violation: Chi...

 

[BanglaBhoot]

China confirmed this week it will sell a new 1,000-megawatt nuclear reactor to Pakistan that the United States says would violate Beijing’s obligations under a nuclear supplier control group.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei was asked Monday about a report in the Free Beacon March 22 that first disclosed the secret agreement for the reactor reached last month in Beijing between the China National Nuclear Corp. and the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission.

“China has noted the relevant report,” Hong told reporters in Beijing.

Normally, Chinese government spokesmen deny such reports and label them “groundless” as a way to avoid comment. The spokesman’s use of the phrase “noted the relevant report” is unusual and a tacit admission the report is accurate.

U.S. intelligence and diplomatic officials privately said the agreement was reached in Beijing during a visit by a high-level Pakistani delegation of nuclear industry officials from Feb. 15 to 18.

The Chinese at the meeting urged Pakistan to keep the deal secret to avoid expected international opposition by states that say the sale violates China’s commitment to the Nuclear Suppliers Group, a 46-member association aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons.

China agreed in 2004 not to sell additional reactors to Pakistan's Chashma nuclear facility beyond the two reactors that began operating in 2000 and 2011.

However, Hong denied the sale violates the voluntary NSG guidelines.

“The cooperation between China and Pakistan does not violate relevant principles of the Nuclear Suppliers Group,” he said. “In recent years, China and Pakistan do indeed carry out some joint projects related to civilian use of nuclear energy. These projects are for peaceful purpose only, in compliance with the international obligations shared by both countries, and they are subject to guarantee and monitor by international atomic energy organization.”

However, U.S. intelligence officials said the China National Nuclear Corp. (CNNC) is Beijing’s main nuclear weapons producer and is working to modernize Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal in addition to the civilian reactor construction at Chashma.

China also is working to develop Pakistan’s nuclear fuel reprocessing capabilities, the officials said.

A State Department spokesman had no immediate comment on China’s confirmation of the nuclear deal.

A Pakistani Embassy spokesman also had no immediate comment.

Richard Fisher, a China affairs specialist with the International Assessment and Strategy Center, said it was a mistake to allow China to join the NSG without first revealing its intention to build two new Chashma reactors.

The action has allowed China to gain the benefits of obtaining U.S. nuclear technology under the NSG while not having to curtail its longstanding efforts to bolster the nuclear capabilities of its client states, Fisher said.

Fisher also said there appears to be a link between China’s NSG membership in 2004 and continued sales to Pakistan and the creation of the six-party nuclear talks on North Korea’s nuclear arms program.

“Both were clearly attempts to befuddle American and other policy makers trying to confront the stark threat of nuclear proliferation,” Fisher said. “The result is that China is achieving its goals, which are an ever stronger nuclear-armed Pakistan and a nuclear-armed North Korea.”

The U.S. government is continuing the “delusion” that China is cooperating in U.S. efforts to stem nuclear arms proliferation, he said.

“Only when U.S. policy starts from the premise that China is the key factor that is enabling and protecting the nuclear ambitions of North Korea, Pakistan, and Iran, will Washington have any chance of averting an age of nuclear terrorism, which Beijing believes will harm the West far more than China,” Fisher said.

The nuclear deal for the Chashma 3 reactor has been known publicly since 2010 and was opposed in the past by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

According to U.S. officials, the secret pact reached in Beijing for the Chashma 3 reactor calls for CNNC to build a 1,000-megawatt power plant at the facility in the northern province of Punjab where the two other Chinese reactors are located.

The Chinese government notified all Communist Party officials and scientists within the nuclear community in China to keep the arrangement secret to avoid upsetting the meeting of the National People’s Congress, the mock parliament. The meeting between March 9 and March 17 formally named party leaders to government posts, including new President Xi Jinping, the Communist Party of China’s general secretary.

The Chinese also urged the Pakistanis to play down the recent handover of the Chinese-built port of Gwadar, Pakistan, to a Chinese company.

U.S. defense officials said the Chinese port is located close to the strategic ‪Gulf of Oman, where a large percentage of the world’s oil passes in ships. China in the future is expected to use the port as a naval refueling stop.

The Obama administration opposes the Chinese reactor deal because it will undermine the Nuclear Suppliers Group, which is viewed by the White House as a key international tool in preventing nuclear weapons proliferation.

However, the administration has not applied pressure on either China or Pakistan because of concerns about upsetting diplomatic relations.

China is a major U.S. trading partner and holds an estimated $1.1 trillion in U.S. debt holdings. Pakistan is a key state in the war on al Qaeda, hosting CIA and U.S. military drone bases. The administration also is concerned that pressuring China to end the reactor deal could undermine Beijing’s support for U.N. sanctions against Iran for its illicit nuclear program.

However, some officials in the administration are concerned that if the reactor deal is permitted, it will increase the danger of nuclear weapons proliferating.

These officials argue that the reactor deal should be blocked and the two governments sanctioned because of Pakistan’s past role in helping the nuclear arms programs of Libya, Iran, and North Korea.

Pakistani scientist A.Q. Khan, considered the father of Islamabad’s nuclear arms program, led the covert supplier network during the early 2000s, and he is believed to have had tacit Pakistani government support.

The Chinese have argued in meetings of the Nuclear Suppliers Group in the past that the new reactor is allowed under the past deal with Pakistan for the two reactors.

But U.S. arms officials say China’s joining the NSG explicitly prohibited the new reactor.

The issue is expected to be discussed in June when a meeting of the NSG is set to be held in Prague.

A State Department official told the Free Beacon last week, “We remain concerned that a transfer of new reactors at Chashma appears to extend beyond the cooperation that was ‘grandfathered’ in when China was approved for membership in the NSG.”

Nuclear supplier states under NSG guidelines are not permitted to sell reactors to states that do not have international safeguards.

China confirms nuclear deal with Pakistan - Washington Times

 

[SHAMK9]

 

[Kompromat]

It was bound to happen, after the US started its good old power politics in our region. Thanks China!
@muse

 

[S_O_C_O_M]

are the current nuclear reactors china gave previously opeational and giving out power to cities?

 

[AUz]

Pakistan is China's one of the most important strategic ally. Pakistan is China's gateway to warm waters, counter to India, and most important ally in the resource rich wider Islamic World spread throughout the globe... Nuclear-deal between Pakistan and China is very logical...

I hope India, China, and Pakistan-all sign nuclear deals with eachother and co-operate, and kick U.S out of this region. Where ever imperial America goes, trouble follows..hope Indians realize it.

 

[muse]

Pakistan is China's one of the most important strategic ally. Pakistan is China's gateway to warm waters, counter to India, and most important ally in the resource rich wider Islamic World spread throughout the globe... Nuclear-deal between Pakistan and China is very logical...

I hope India, China, and Pakistan-all sign nuclear deals with eachother and co-operate, and kick U.S out of this region. Where ever imperial America goes, trouble follows..hope Indians realize it.

Many in Pakistan and among the Pakistani diaspora think Pakistan are isolated, and this is superficial - Pakistan can have any number of friends and any and every kind of assistance, but it must recognize the concerns not just of her citizens but of the world - unless it displays a strong willingness to assert the Pakistani state against Islamist militants, it will find that such help is withheld - And China can help Pakistan by hammering the point that Pakistan needs to inject sanity in her economic polices and the will to confront militants.

 

[Rocky rock]

That is a Great New's...hope international countries will not make hurdles in this Deal again Thanks to CHINA LONG LIVE PAK-CHINA FRIENDSHIP <3

 

[Pandora]

are the current nuclear reactors china gave previously opeational and giving out power to cities?

Yes Chashma 1 and 2 are operational.

 

[somebozo]

Mere azeez Hindustani Bhaiyo,

 

[Pandora]

@Topic Don't know how Americans can even speak of violation after all the NSG member countries are supplying nuclear materials and reactors to India.

For some reason i am loving this song right now.

 

[haviZsultan]

US spurns Pakistan and Pakistan turns to China. These are 6 points why China should be taken as an ally and given preference over the US:

1) Helped us greatly with nukes-US applied sanctions
2) Common interests. Chinas war with India in 1962.
3) Chinese rise as a superpower. Piggyback on it and we can rise too but we don't see the oppotunity. As US sinks China will rise.
4) Higher than mountains and deeper than the seas-thats our relationship Hu Jin Tao said. They have helped us up when we were going through sanctions and were not getting exotic US machinery, J10's, JF17's.
5) One day China will beat the US economically and militarily. We should choose the right side and consider our future.

 

[genmirajborgza786]

The Chinese at the meeting urged Pakistan to keep the deal secret to avoid expected international opposition

The question which arises here is who leaked the report if it was from the Pakistani side be it, ministers, media, general's, some "good for nothing" jingoistic people , spies etc , who ever it is & if from the Pakistani side needs to be shot ASAP ! these are state secrets which must be guarded @ all times

 

[Argus Panoptes]

US spurns Pakistan and Pakistan turns to China. These are 6 points why China should be taken as an ally and given preference over the US:

1) Helped us greatly with nukes-US applied sanctions
2) Common interests. Chinas war with India in 1962.
3) Chinese rise as a superpower. Piggyback on it and we can rise too but we don't see the oppotunity. As US sinks China will rise.
4) Higher than mountains and deeper than the seas-thats our relationship Hu Jin Tao said. They have helped us up when we were going through sanctions and were not getting exotic US machinery, J10's, JF17's.
5) One day China will beat the US economically and militarily. We should choose the right side and consider our future.

Please also consider the following counter-points:

1. Our nukes are mostly indigenous. China has only helped with civil nuclear power and not military applications. China is also part of the NSG and will supply technology to Pakistan only around those controls.

2. The was of 1962 was over half a century ago. Since then, it is a changed world. Their bilateral trade has grown manifold and rising rapidly. These economic relations will ensure that the chances of another war are minimal.

3. China will surely rise as a superpower, but it does not necessarily follow we can piggyback on to that success. We have to make our own way with progress. Nobody else will do it for us.

4. Higher and deeper cliches aside, all we have is a few JF-17s with Russian engines and cobbled up electronic and weapons delivery systems. There are no J-10s and certainly no exotic machinery from China.

5. One day China will beat USA. But will we be around then if we do not solve our own mounting problems? Kaun jeeta hai teri zulf kay seher honay tak.