Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang (right) meets with IAEA Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi on Tuesday in Beijing. Photo: China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will not endorse the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the sea by any country and will not agree to any activities that violate international safety standards, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said during a meeting with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang in Beijing on Tuesday.

Grossi is meeting with several high-level officials and visiting nuclear facilities and institutions in Beijing, Shanghai and Shandong, during his first official visit to China.

Qin said that China firmly pursues a nuclear strategy of self-defense, is firmly committed to maintaining the international nuclear non-proliferation regime based on the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), firmly supports the peaceful use of nuclear energy, strengthens its own nuclear security and supports international cooperation on nuclear security.

China and the IAEA enjoy sound cooperation with a solid foundation and broad prospects; China supports the IAEA in playing a bigger role in global nuclear governance and making new contributions to reforming and improving the global nuclear governance system and promoting world peace and security.

China hopes the IAEA will perform its supervisory responsibilities with objectivity, fairness, and professionalism, said Qin, urging the agency to firmly resist individual countries' attempts to overstate national security and disrupt or undermine the normal order of international cooperation.

China also hopes the IAEA will properly handle the nuclear submarine cooperation between the US, the UK and Australia and the issue of Japan's nuclear contaminated water discharge into the sea, and safeguard the authority and credibility of IAEA, the international nuclear non-proliferation regime and international security, Qin said.

Grossi said the IAEA appreciates China's achievements in the peaceful use of nuclear energy, attaches great importance to cooperation with China and takes seriously China's concerns on the Taiwan question. The agency is willing to deepen cooperation with China, strengthen institutional capacity building and promote peaceful development and utilization of nuclear energy.

IAEA is committed to nonproliferation and respects the decisions of member states. It will remain neutral and conduct transparent consultations on US-UK-Australia nuclear submarine cooperation, said Grossi, adding that the IAEA will not endorse the release of nuclear-contaminated water into the sea by any country and will not agree to any activities that violate international safety standards.

"China is one of the IAEA's most important partners and a global leader in nuclear energy," Grossi said. "This week's agenda will cover the remarkable progress of China's nuclear energy program, cooperation in nuclear applications and indispensable exchanges on non-proliferation and nuclear safety," according to IAEA's website.

China has more than 50 operational nuclear power units and 24 are under construction. By 2035, China's nuclear power generation will account for 10 percent of the country's electricity generation, according to the latest Blue Book of China Nuclear Energy Development Report.

Global Times