NSG membership: Ahead of key meeting in Seoul, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar visits China

Ahead of the key meeting in Seoul, where India's membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is expected to be deliberated upon by the atomic trading club, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar visited Beijing.

"Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar visited Beijing (China) on June 16-17 for bilateral consultations with his Chinese counterpart," reported ANI, quoting the Ministry of External  Affairs.

The Ministry also said that all major issues including India's NSG membership were discussed in the meeting between Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart.

Acknowledging that India is 'inching closer' to get membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, Chinese official media had on Thursday said if New Delhi is admitted into the elite grouping, the "nuclear balance" between India and Pakistan will be broken.

According to an India Today report, Jaishankar's hushed visit comes days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on June 23 when both leaders attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation leaders' meeting in Tashkent.

India has asserted that being a signatory to the NPT was not essential for joining the NSG as there has been a precedent in this regard, citing the case of France.

Mexico has also backed India's NSG bid during the visit of PM Narendra Modi there. The Mexican support followed that of the US and Switzerland. Japan too has expressed its support for India's inclusion in the grouping.