China
UPDATED: 11:00, December 07, 2006
Australia approves uranium sales deal
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200612/07/eng20061207_329533.html
China and Australia will step up efforts in uranium co-operation from next year as a parliamentary committee in Canberra approved an export deal yesterday.
Australia, which holds 40 per cent of the world's recoverable uranium, will start to sell uranium to China from next year, paving the way for Canberra to share its nuclear material and technology with Beijing.
The two countries reached agreements on the transfer of nuclear materials for peaceful use in April during Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Australia. China always takes a positive attitude towards co-operation on the peaceful use of nuclear energy on the basis of equality and mutual benefits.
The Foreign Ministry has repeated on several occasions that China is willing to conduct such co-operation on the premise of honouring its respective international obligations with other countries.
Premier Wen is expected to meet again with his Australian counterpart John Howard on the sidelines of the East Asia summit, to be held next week in Cebu, a Philippine island.
It is believed the two leaders will further reaffirm their common understanding on the issue of nuclear co-operation for peaceful use. Analysts said the Sino-Australian nuclear co-operation showed that the mutual trust between the two countries had reached a new high.
Han Feng, a senior researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said due to political factors Western countries were always very cautious about exporting nuclear materials to China.
"The approval from the Australian parliamentary committee is the follow up action to the April agreements and it is the result of the increasing mutual understanding and trust between the two countries," he said.
He said the Australian Government has clearly showed its determination to develop stronger links with China such as through the uranium co-operation. Han said as Australia is richly endowed with natural resources in particular energy resources while China presents the world with a huge market, it is "absolutely a mutually beneficial co-operation.
Han said the commercial agreements would provide the impetus for the expansion of Australia's uranium industry.
Source: China Daily
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