How relevant is the Nuclear Security Summit for China
- By Niranjan Sahoo
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E-mail China.org.cn, March 31, 2016
While these measures still fall short of meeting the challenges (given that 80 percent of nuclear materials are still under military jurisdiction and effectively outside the scope of the NSS), such voluntary efforts have acquired immense political significance. Of course, credit must be given to big powers like the USA, China and Russia in showing an exemplary commitment to building a consensus and common vision on key parameters of nuclear material security.
However, what happens after the fourth and final summit? It must be acknowledged that President Obama has made considerable personal investment in making this initiative a success. With his term coming to an end in another 10 months, the crucial question remains whether or not the promising initiative will continue to receive the same or greater support from America's future president.
The NSS and the blossoming U.S.-China cooperation
While there are pertinent questions about the future of the NSS, the initiative which brings top world leaders to the table has turned out to be an excellent forum for country to country cooperation. A case in point is the blossoming Sino-U.S. cooperation on nuclear issues. The NSS level interface has resulted in a bridging of mistrust and a growing cooperation between the United States and China. The standout positive outcome of this fortuitous process is the setting up of a Nuclear Security Center of Excellence in Beijing, the largest of its kind in the Asia-Pacific region with active contributions from the U.S. Co-built by the U.S. Department of Energy and the China Atomic Energy Authority, this center is capable of training 2,000 nuclear security personnel apart from providing space for analytical experiments, emergency response simulations and the safe preservation of nuclear materials.
Thus, the NSS as a common platform has done a great deal to remove age-old mistrust and encourage countries like China to adopt a more proactive role in initiating and observing safety measures. For the first time, China has come out with a White Paper on nuclear emergency responses. Of course, China needs greater cooperation from nuclear superpowers like the U.S. to deepen its civilian nuclear programs for the purpose of power generation. If China has to meet its climate pledge of adding an equated 20 percent non-fossil fuel energy sources to its energy basket by 2030, it has to push for nuclear energy with greater pace and vigour. With more than a quarter of the world's nuclear power plants, the U.S. is the indisputable world leader in nuclear technology. Therefore, it is in China's interest to take NSS level cooperation to the next stage. There is enormous scope for cooperation on preventing growing cyber threats to nuclear infrastructure.
It is in this context that President Xi Jinping's participation in the upcoming summit assumes a greater significance. Apart from helping to consolidate Obama's six years of hard efforts in the realm of nuclear safety issues, Xi can inspire other leaders to take the nuclear security threats seriously. China's recently released White Paper and pledges in the newly adopted 13th Five-Year Plan makes it a good candidate to lead the next series of steps needed to further consolidate the gains of the NSS Summits. A good starting point could be North Korea.
Niranjan Sahoo is a senior fellow at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi.
Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
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