China and Australia are close to strike the final agreement with Australia for the supply of uranium, a senior Chinese diplomat said in Beijing on Tuesday.
"We believe that the final agreement (with Australia) will be reached very soon," Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister He Yafei told reporters in Beijing.
He did not say whether the final deal would be struck during the upcoming state visit to Australia by Chinese President Hu Jintao, beginning from September 3.
With regard to uranium cooperation between China and Australia, at the beginning of this year, the China-Australia agreement on peaceful use of nuclear energy and agreement on the transfer of nuclear materials came into effect, He said at a special briefing on Hu's visit.
"The two documents laid solid foundation for uranium resource cooperation. We are satisfied to see that relevant businesses of the two countries are exploring uranium development and cooperation. There have been some substantive results," he said.
"I want to stress that as a signatory to the nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, China attaches great importance to nuclear security. We stand ready to cooperate with Australia and other members of the international community to remain committed to nuclear non-proliferation and to pursue nuclear energy cooperation under the pre-condition of peaceful utilisation," he said.
Australia, which holds 40 per cent of the world's recoverable uranium, reached an agreement in April 2006 to begin exporting uranium to China, a move that should double annual revenue from exports of the nuclear fuel to $1 billion.
China, with a huge appetite for energy, is banking on nuclear power to meet its needs and cut greenhouse emissions from fossil fuels.
Despite its huge reserves, Australia accounts for only 23 per cent of global uranium production, in part because of mining bans associated with fears over the safety of nuclear waste and proliferation.
