United States should pressure China to stop nuclear sale to Pakistan

{
  "authors": [],
  "type": "pressRelease",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "ctw",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "SAP",
  "programs": [
    "South Asia"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "South Asia",
    "Pakistan",
    "East Asia",
    "China"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Nuclear Policy"
  ]
}

Press Release

United States should pressure China to stop nuclear sale to Pakistan

Concerns are growing about China’s potential sale of two nuclear reactors to Pakistan. The United States should oppose the transaction in its current form and pressure China to reverse course.

Published on Jul 19, 2010

WASHINGTON, July 19—Concerns are growing about China’s potential sale of two nuclear reactors to Pakistan. The United States should oppose the transaction in its current form and pressure China to reverse course, contends a new paper by Ashley J. Tellis. While some observers believe that the recent U.S.–India civil nuclear deal complicates Washington’s ability to credibly resist the China–Pakistan agreement, the two deals are fundamentally different.

Key findings:

The U.S.–India deal was public. Unlike the secret Sino–Pakistani agreement, the U.S.-India deal was publicly debated in both countries.

China risks reneging on its obligations. When China joined the Nuclear Suppliers Group in 2004, it agreed not to sell nuclear material to non-nuclear-weapon states that do not accept full-scope safeguards. A sale to Pakistan violates those terms.

Deal undermines the nonproliferation regime. While the United States requested a special waiver from the Nuclear Suppliers Group to sell nuclear material to India, China has given no indication that it has such plans for Pakistan.

The United States can make a difference. In the past, Washington has successfully pressured Beijing—both multilaterally and bilaterally—to halt nuclear sales to Pakistan.

“The record of the last decade suggests that the United States has been successful in impeding problematic Chinese nuclear sales to Pakistan whenever it has remonstrated with Beijing at very high levels of government in both capitals,” Tellis writes. “There is no reason why President Obama cannot sustain this record of American achievement if he invests time and attention on this issue, given the emphasis he has placed on managing nuclear proliferation.”

###

NOTES

Click here to read the commentary online

Ashley J. Tellis is a senior associate in the Carnegie South Asia program. He specializes in international security, defense, and Asian strategic issues and was intimately involved in the negotiations associated with the U.S.-India civil nuclear agreement. Previously, he was a senior adviser to the U.S. ambassador to India and was a special assistant to the president and senior director for strategic planning and Southwest Asia in the NSC.

The Carnegie South Asia Program offers in-depth expertise on a range of issues relating to South Asia, including nonproliferation, international security, and political and economic development.

Press Contact: David Kampf, 202-939-2233, pressoffice@ceip.org

Nuclear Policy South Asia Pakistan East Asia China

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Europe

Paper
Assessing Information Ecosystems: How Governments Can Get Ahead of Hybrid Threats
The hybrid warfare landscape is evolving rapidly, leaving policymakers without clear strategies. To better inform their work in addressing emerging challenges, governments must dig deeper into the underlying dynamics at play.
Raluca Csernatoni, Alicia Wanless
Commentary
Strategic Europe
Taking the Pulse: Is European Diplomacy on Iran Outdated?
When the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding was announced, the UK, France, Germany, and Italy declared their readiness to help demine the Strait of Hormuz and lift nuclear sanctions on Tehran. But does Europe need new tools to recover a diplomatic role?
Rym Momtaz, ed.
Paper
From Trade Dependence to Geopolitical Leverage: The EU in an Era of Weaponized Interdependence
As geopolitical rivalry weaponizes global supply chains, the EU’s true vulnerability lies in emerging-risk imports. For these goods, suppliers are growing more concentrated, substitution more difficult, and political risk is looming.
Sinan Ülgen
Commentary
Strategic Europe
Europe Should Not Let Nuclear Nonproliferation Die
Amid uncertainty caused by the Iran war, the global drive for nonproliferation has stalled. With Europe diplomatically marginalized and countries reassessing their nuclear options, efforts to curb the spread of nuclear weapons risk becoming irrelevant.
Jane Darby Menton
Commentary
Can Europe Compete with the United States and China?
Between the United States’ market-driven approach and China's state-led industrial strategy, Europe is reckoning with how it can remain competitive in the global economy. But is Europe in danger of becoming a U.S. or China colony?
Noah Barkin, Anu Bradford

More Work from Carnegie Europe

Paper

Assessing Information Ecosystems: How Governments Can Get Ahead of Hybrid Threats

The hybrid warfare landscape is evolving rapidly, leaving policymakers without clear strategies. To better inform their work in addressing emerging challenges, governments must dig deeper into the underlying dynamics at play.

Raluca Csernatoni, Alicia Wanless

Commentary

Strategic Europe

Taking the Pulse: Is European Diplomacy on Iran Outdated?

When the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding was announced, the UK, France, Germany, and Italy declared their readiness to help demine the Strait of Hormuz and lift nuclear sanctions on Tehran. But does Europe need new tools to recover a diplomatic role?

Rym Momtaz, ed.

Europe trade economy container supply chains

Paper

From Trade Dependence to Geopolitical Leverage: The EU in an Era of Weaponized Interdependence

As geopolitical rivalry weaponizes global supply chains, the EU’s true vulnerability lies in emerging-risk imports. For these goods, suppliers are growing more concentrated, substitution more difficult, and political risk is looming.

Sinan Ülgen

Commentary

Strategic Europe

Europe Should Not Let Nuclear Nonproliferation Die

Amid uncertainty caused by the Iran war, the global drive for nonproliferation has stalled. With Europe diplomatically marginalized and countries reassessing their nuclear options, efforts to curb the spread of nuclear weapons risk becoming irrelevant.

Jane Darby Menton

Commentary

Can Europe Compete with the United States and China?

Between the United States’ market-driven approach and China's state-led industrial strategy, Europe is reckoning with how it can remain competitive in the global economy. But is Europe in danger of becoming a U.S. or China colony?

Noah Barkin, Anu Bradford