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Australia Agrees to Sell Uranium to China
Australia today agreed to sell uranium to China for use in nuclear power plants, the New York Times reported (see GSN, March 28). The agreement also allows China to invest in Australian uranium mines. An official with Australia’s Foreign Affairs and Trade Department said yesterday the United States would be “hardly in a position” to condemn the deal in light of the planned U.S.-Indian nuclear sharing agreement. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice learned of the deal during a visit to Australia last month. “She simply listened to the fact we have negotiated an agreement within the framework of the” Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, the official said. George Perkovich, director of studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a critic of the Indian deal, said that he did not think China is similar to India. China possesses sufficient fissile material for its nuclear arsenal, he said. “There is every reason to think China will be using uranium for civilian uses. If you're a country that sells uranium to countries for nuclear power, there is no argument for not selling it to China,” he said (Jane Perlez, New York Times, April 3).
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