Srinagar
China on Tuesday reiterated that Kashmir issue needs to be addressed properly through negotiation between India and Pakistan.
The statement made by the Chinese Foreign Ministry comes a day after Indian Foreign Minister said that government of India wants all issues, including Kashmir, solved bilaterally with Pakistan.
Sushma Swaraj had raised concern over China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in which USD 50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a part.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Hua Chunyings, said, “We also stressed many times that the Kashmir issue is one left behind by history between India and Pakistan and should be addressed properly through negotiation.”
“The CPEC is an economic corridor and not targeted at any third party and has nothing to do with any territorial dispute. It will not affect Chinas position on Kashmir,” Hua added.
Chian also said that it is in touch with Russia over India’s entry into the elite Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), but made it clear that its position on the issue remains “unchanged.”
“China and other member including Russia maintained close communication and we also maintain that we should act in accordance with the principles of the NSG,” Hua told media.
The application for accession by non-NPT countries is a multi-lateral question and should be addressed on the basis of consensus of the NSG members Hua said when asked for reaction to Swaraj’s comments.
“We have stressed our position many times on this issue. Our position remains unchanged,” Hua said, reiterating Chinas two step approach – first to reach a non-discriminatory resolution that applies to all non-NPT countries and then to discuss the application to non-NPT countries.
She said that at the NSG plenary session this month in Bern, China wishes to conduct “constructive discussion”. Pakistan too has applied for the NSG membership.
