Just hours after Washington reiterated its support to India's candidacy for Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), China softened its opposition to India's admissions into the elite nuclear club.

China said that NSG members are now open to hold discussions on including India and other members that have not signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).  

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"The door is still open within the NSG for non-NPT members to join," foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said. "There is always room for discussion."

China's stance on Tuesday marks a complete shift from its earlier stance that India's application to join the 48-member nuclear club should not be on the agenda of the NSG's plenary meeting in Seoul, which is scheduled for June 23-24.

"We did not target any country, India or Pakistan. We only care about the non-proliferation treaty," she said, suggesting that China's stance on NPT remains unchanged.

Hua said Beijing fears that if Non-NPT members like India are admitted into NSG, then it could have adverse effect on the Iranian nuclear deal and the North Korea situation.       

China's tough stance against India on NSG issue is believed to be at the behest of its close ally Pakistan, which has also applied for NSG membership. Pakistan is also not signatory to NPT.

China has constantly maintained that if India is included in the NSG, Pakistan must be granted membership as well. However, many countries are opposed to Pakistan's inclusion in NSG, owing to its poor track record on the nuclear proliferation front.     

Meanwhile, New Delhi is not leaving any stone unturned in convincing other nations to support India's candidature. The Indian government has reached out to Austria and Ireland, which reportedly have reservations about non-NPT members' inclusion in the exclusive nuclear club.

However, India is more focused on China, as it remains the biggest stumbling block to India's inclusion in NSG. Sources from the Indian government have claimed that India is constantly negotiating with China and other opposing members through closed-door meetings and phones calls.

Last week, India's top diplomat, S. Jaishankar, made an unannounced visit to Beijing and met China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The main agenda of that meeting was to convince China to soften its stance against India's NSG membership.

TagsIndia, NSG, china, Nuclear Supplier Group