China refuses to budge on India’s NSG bid, Azhar’s banning

On the eve of President Xi Jinping’s India visit, China on Friday stuck to its guns saying that there was no change in its stand on India’s NSG membership bid and New Delhi’s attempts to get JeM chief Masood Azhar designated as a terrorist by the UN.

As Xi is due to arrive in Goa on Saturday to take part in the BRICS Summit, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang said the relations between India and China made “great headway” despite some “disputes” but there was no change in in Beijing’s stand on the issues of NSG and Azhar.

“I have stated China’s position. I would like to reiterate that the UN committee dealing with the listing does it according to provisions of the UN charter,” he said while replying to a question on India’s application to ban Azhar following the Pathankot terrorist attack.

Geng, at a briefing, said China maintains that 1267 Committee of the UN designated to ban terrorist outfits should work on true facts and make a decision according to consensus of its members.

All parties are divided in listing of the relevant people.

And this is why China has put on hold banning Azhar, he said.

The second technical hold put by China will give enough time to make the listing decision, Geng said, adding that this also shows the responsible and professional attitude of the Chinese side.

“China’s position has not changed regarding the joining of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) by India,” Geng said.

Speaking on the same issue earlier this month, China’s Vice Foreign Minister Li Baodong had harped on the need to build consensus over the admission of new members in the 48-member NSG.

Geng said on Friday that he wants to “underscore” that in recent years China and India relations had been making “great headway” despite some “disputes”.

He said that the “mainstream of bilateral relations have been positive” and “cooperation far outweighs competition”.