China likely to go ahead with nuclear deal

China is likely to go ahead with financing the construction of two nuclear power reactors in Pakistan despite concerns from certain quarters, Chinese experts have said.

A plan to build the reactors would be unveiled during a meeting of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) being held in New Zealand, said an article published in the China Daily on Wednesday.

“This is not the first time China has helped Pakistan build nuclear reactors, and since it will be watched by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the deal is not going to have any problems,” said Zhai Dequan, the deputy secretary-general of the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association.

He said the US would not pressurise China too much because it has struck a nuclear deal with India. In 2008, the NSG, which represents 46 countries that control the world’s atomic trade, made an exemption allowing Washington to sell civil nuclear technology to New Delhi.

Pakistan has stressed many times that it wants the same recognition as India on civil nuclear usage.

“Pakistan is also fighting a war on terror for the US as well as for itself, and the country’s loss is greater than the US and the other 42 coalition nations combined,” Mr Zhai wrote.

“The economic aid it has received is too little compared to its loss. Pakistan has an urgent need for more civil energy and that need should be looked after,” he said.

The US asked China to clarify details of the deal last week, after intense urging from India, but stopped short of publicly opposing it.

Last Thursday, China said the reactors were for peaceful purposes and it would accept IAEA’s inspection.

China joined the NSG in 2004 but has already built one reactor and started a second at Chashma in Punjab. The two new reactors in the region will generate 650 megawatts each.

Although the deal is not likely to attract strong opposition, NSG members still do not want to see the transaction go forward, according to Mark Hibbs, nuclear policy expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Policy in Washington.

However, Mr Hibbs said the US-India deal set a precedent. “There was no real agreement between the members about how to proceed,” the Australian Radio quoted him as saying.

Fan Jishe, a scholar of US studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, argues that the nature of the Sino-Pakistan deal is different from that of the US-India deal.

“We do not need an exemption from the NSG, as requested by the US, since the deal was reached before we joined the group,” Fan said.—APP

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