Beijing: China today for the first time took note of India's bid to become a member of the elite Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).
A joint statement issued after a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said the Chinese side "took note" of India's aspirations to become a member of the 48-member NSG in a bid to strengthen international non-proliferation efforts.
Earlier, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar told the media that China for the first time has taken note of India's interest to become a member of the NSG which controls the civil nuclear technology trade regime.
China in January had called on India to take more steps to satisfy the standards of the NSG after US President Barack Obama backed India's inclusion into the grouping.
"We support the group to include new members and we support India to take further measures to meet the requirements for the inclusion in the group," China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying had said. She had said India's admission to the group "requires very careful consideration from all the member countries".
The NSG is a multinational body concerned with reducing nuclear proliferation by controlling the export and re-transfer of materials that may be applicable to nuclear weapon development and by improving safeguards and protection on existing materials.
