Australia to supply China with uranium

Australia agreed to sell billions of pounds' worth of uranium to China yesterday amid a fierce debate over whether the fuel could be used in nuclear weapons.


The deal was given the green light after China signed a nuclear safeguards deal under which it has pledged to use the uranium only for the production of electricity.

The agreement marries Australia's mineral reserves - it has 40 per cent of the world's uranium deposits - with China's aim to build 30 nuclear reactors by 2020 to meet its rapidly growing power needs.

But critics said it would be hard for Canberra to ensure that its uranium did not end up being used in the manufacture of nuclear warheads when it begins to arrive in China in 2010, while the sale could lead to instability in Asia, environmental problems and friction with the United States.

The Chinese prime minister, Wen Jiabao, who was in Canberra yesterday on a four-day visit aimed at boosting bilateral ties, pledged that the uranium would only be used for peaceful purposes. "China is a responsible country in the international community," he said.

Mr Wen, China's second most powerful leader, said his country would abide by the rules of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the principles of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The Australian prime minister, John Howard, said he was satisfied that the safeguards would be enforced and hailed the transformation of Australia's relationship with China over the last decade as "remarkable". Australia hoped to build "an ever closer, more effective and more permanent partnership", Mr Howard added.

But Australia is walking a delicate line between courting China as a market for its plentiful raw materials, and upholding its traditional alliance with the US, where the rise of the People's Republic is viewed with growing disquiet.

The Howard government has distanced itself from the American commitment to defending Taiwan in the event of a war with China.

Australia regards China more as a partner than a potential adversary and an opinion poll last year suggested that Australians trust Beijing more than they trust Washington.

Australia and China may be poles apart politically but economically they have forged closer links, with China already buying billions of pounds' worth of Australian natural gas, iron ore and coal.

China is Australia's second biggest trading partner, after Japan, and exports have quadrupled in the last decade to more than £5 billion a year.

But critics accused the government of pursuing trade at the expense of regional security and human rights reform.

"Make no mistake, selling Australian uranium to China will make the world less safe," said Christine Milne, a senator with the minority Greens.

"China does not honour its international obligations on political and civil rights, and it has a poor reputation in terms of nuclear technology."

There are fears that the imported uranium will allow China to divert its existing, limited stockpiles into the production of nuclear weapons.

Mark Diesendorf, an environmental scientist at the University of New South Wales, said the government's assurances were "meaningless and worthless".

"Even if the Chinese do not directly use Australian uranium, they'll be using it indirectly to expand their weapons programme," he added.

Australia extracts about 10,000 tons of uranium a year from three mines in South Australia and the Northern Territory.

China is expected to need 20,000 tons a year and the Australian government wants to open new mines, despite local opposition.

24 July 2005: Anger as Australia and Canada try to sell uranium to Beijing















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