From K J M Varma
Beijing: President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tashkent beginning tomorrow during which India is expected to seek China’s support for membership of the NSG.

“We will release relevant information in due course,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said today.

The spokesperson said the two leaders would be meeting on the sidelines of the SCO summit in the capital city of Uzbekistan.

During his meeting with Xi, Modi is expected to seek China’s support for India’s bid for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, which Beijing is keen on blocking.

Hua, however, refuted perception that China is blocking India’s entry into the NSG.

“With regard to India’s entry into NSG, I would like correct that the word China blocking India’s membership is not proper,” she said.

“The word blocking is not proper. In the NSG agenda we have never seen the topic of non-NPT countries entry. So it does not make sense to say we block the entry,” she said.

“As all of us can see all the countries are concerned about this issue and various issues relating to non-NPT countries entry into the NSG has been discussed through friends of chair presided over by the Chair of the NSG,” she said.

“We hope that relevant discussion will keep going and Chinese side will take constructive part in the discussion,” she said.

PTI