BEIJING: Amid reports that Pakistan may ink a nuclear deal with China next week during President Asif Ali Zardari's maiden visit here, Beijing on Thursday kept mum on the issue but said all countries were entitled to make peaceful use of atomic energy.
China will continue to conduct nuclear energy cooperation with "relevant countries", Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu said ahead of the visit of the new Pakistan President to Beijing from September 17.
"All countries are entitled to make peaceful use of nuclear energy," she said when asked to comment on media reports of a Sino-Pakistani nuclear deal, similar to the Indo-US agreement which Beijing apparently tried to scuttle at the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) meeting in Vienna.
Jiang said she had "no information" on whether Pakistan was seeking a new pact on trade in nuclear material.
China is "prudent and responsible" about its military exports, she pointed out. It has taken "strict administrative measures" to ensure that the necessary international standards relating to exports of military material are observed in China's trade with all countries, she said.
She said China welcomes the visit by Zardari, who assumed the post on Tuesday. Zardari's visit will coincide with the closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games, which he is expected to attend.
Incidentally, India's National Security Adviser M K Narayanan is also expected to visit Beijing around the time of Zardari's visit for the next round of India-China boundary talks.
