The China National Nuclear Corporation has agreed to build two civilian nuclear reactorsat the Chashma site in Pakistan. China has previously constructed two such reactors for Pakistan.
The US has stated that it is keeping a close eye on this agreement. US Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg said that discussions regarding this agreement were still ongoing and a “final conclusion” has not been reached as yet. “But it’s something we’re obviously looking at very carefully,” he said.
He added that the US was examining the legality of such an agreement particularly in light of international non-proliferation commitments, “We’ll want to continue to engage on the question, about whether this is permitted under the understandings of the IAEA.”
In 2004 China was admitted into the Nuclear Suppliers Group, a cartel of nuclear energy states that prohibits exports to nations lacking stringent safeguards prescribed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Both India and Pakistan refuse to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Analysts feel that China was prompted to make this deal after the United States in 2008 signed an audacious nuclear agreement with India
