China ready to meet Australia uranium safeguards: Wen

Perth, Apr 2: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao today said China was prepared to meet Australian safeguard requirements for the purchase of uranium.

Australia, which has about 40 per cent of the world's known uranium reserves, is ready to supply uranium to meet China's energy needs as long as the Asian giant adheres to strict criteria.

''In our bilateral cooperation we should establish a long-term, stable and fundamental institutional and systematic safeguard,'' Wen said in Perth on the first day of a four-day visit to Australia.

''Our energy and resources cooperation is ensured by such a safeguard and during my visit to Australia this time the two governments are going to sign the agreement for peaceful use of nuclear energy and safeguards of nuclear energy,'' he said through an interpreter.

Australia requires countries to have signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and to agree a separate nuclear safeguards deal with Canberra before it will export uranium.

Wen meets Prime Minister John Howard in Canberra tomorrow, when they are expected to sign the deal on uranium exports.

Interviewed on television today, Howard said he was confident Australia would be able to enforce any safeguards it places on the agreement.

''China is wanting world acceptance in many ways,'' Howard said. ''China sees herself as projecting influence and authority in the region. That's understandable, given her size and I don't think she's going to lightly give up the fairly hard-won reputation that's she's trying to get.'' Howard repeated his government's position that it had no present intention to change its policy on uranium trade to allow exports of the mineral to India.

Yet Australia is sending officials to India next month to find out more about a U S deal that will see India receive U S nuclear technology in return for separating its military and civil facilities and opening civilian plants to inspections.

Howard said he supported the U S deal, but that did not mean Australia was considering a change in its uranium trade policy.

China is expected to build 40 to 50 nuclear power plants over the next 20 years, while India is looking to boost its nuclear power industry, which currently accounts for only 3 percent of energy production.

Australia has 19 nuclear safeguard agreements, covering 36 countries, including the United States, France, Britain, Mexico, Japan, Finland and South Korea.

REUTERS