Chinese Ambassador Signals Room for Talks on India in NSG

Liu Jinsong asked why China should ‘rush to pick up the hat’ if India hadn’t explicitly accused them.

Pranab Mukherjee meets Chinese President Xi Jinping on May 26, 2016 (Photo Courtesy: Reuters)

In an important development in India’s bid to secure a position in the NSG, China has indicated that there is room for negotiations and a solution can be found. This is the first time that there have been such indications after India accused China of blocking its entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), albeit without naming it.

Liu Jinsong refrained from heating issues up again and asked why China should ‘rush to pick up the hat,’ especially if India hadn’t explicitly accused them. Beijing’s envoy to New Delhi also allayed concerns of impeding trade routes in the South China Sea and said China, like India, is a “peace-loving country” and Delhi has no reason to worry about its capacity-building in national defence.

On the Chinese putting on technical hold the UN designation of Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar as a terrorist, Liu assured that it is “not a political hold” and is not being blocked. He also counselled India to indulge in “friendly consultations” with Pakistan – without naming it – and come to a mutually acceptable outcome.

Source: The Indian Express