The nonproliferation regime is in crisis with North Korea's defiance and Iran's continuation of its nuclear program despite opposition from the international community. Yet while a lot of discussion is happening about what can be done about these two states, no one seems willing to take on the elephant in the room: China.
Not only has China played a crucial role in the North Korean and Iranian nuclear programs, its nuclear engagement with Pakistan potentially remains the most destabilizing factor in the global management of nuclear weapons technology.
Last month Beijing confirmed its plans to sell a new 1,000-megawatt nuclear reactor to Pakistan in a deal signed in February. This pact was secretly concluded between the China National Nuclear Corp. (CNNC) and the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission during the visit by Pakistani nuclear industry officials to Beijing on Feb. 15-18. This sale will once again violate China's commitment to the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and contravenes China's promise in 2004 while joining the NSG not to sell additional reactors to Pakistan's Chashma nuclear facility beyond the two reactors that began operating in 2000 and 2011.