Iran’s N-technology offer to Arabs

THE HUE AND CRY raised by the United States and its European allies over the alleged Iranian programme to develop nuclear weapons must now be examined in the context of Tehran’s reported offer to Arab states of transferring nuclear technology for peaceful uses including generation of electricity through nuclear technology instead of non-renewable oil reserves. The offer is stated to have been made by Islamic Republic’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during a meeting with Kuwait Ruler’s top aide Mohammad Zefollah Shirar on Saturday in Tehran. The Iranian offer comes in the wake of Iran’s Arab neighbours’ decision announced last week to develop a joint peaceful nuclear programme. Iran continues to insist that its nuclear programme aims exclusively at power generation. The Americans however doubt Tehran’s motives.
While Bush Administration does not believe the Iranian leadership, it conveniently ignores what the Israelis are doing in the Middle East. Several reports emanating from the Middle East as also hints dropped by Zionist leadership in interviews with the media, it is now no more a secret that Israel possesses an arsenal of nuclear weapons. Its continuing forcible occupation of Arab lands and unrelenting atrocities of Israeli troops, which in fact is the root cause of so-called international terrorism are being conveniently ignored by Washington. The injustices being done to Palestinians by Israeli leadership are being covered up by the Americans.
However, Iran’s peaceful nuclear programme irks the Americans and the European Union. Tehran’s peaceful nuclear programme is being branded by them as a cover for development of nukes. Iran’s reported offer for transfer of nuclear technology to Arab neighbours for generation of electricity demonstrates its sincerity. Tehran wants to transfer its advanced nuclear technology in terms of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and under safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency. This should prove Iran’s intentions to harness nuclear technology only for power generation and other peaceful uses. Washington does not tolerate any Muslim state having nuclear technology. It wants the Ummah including the Middle Eastern countries to be dependent on the West. Americans are now ready to transfer nuclear technology to non-Muslim India but their close ally Pakistan which is an important Muslim country and a declared nuclear power, must contend itself with American offer of cooperation in development of non-nuclear alternate sources of energy. The American agenda to deprive the Muslim world of nuclear technology is well known. They suspect Muslim states acquiring nuclear weapons of posing a threat to Israel and the West. The non-Muslim nuclear powers including India and Israel are no “rogue states”. The Muslim states having nuclear capability are however suspect in their eyes. They can not be “responsible”. Washington’s known bias against the Muslim world on account of nuclear technology betrays its double standards.

An exciting market

Marking the fifth anniversary of China’s entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) and also the last year of the transition period to fully open markets, one of the world economic engines in 2006 has been in the spotlight. On December 11, China fully opened its financial market in line with its WTO commitments, which guarantee foreign banks equal national treatment with their Chinese counterparts to engage in renminbi business.
Obviously, the end of such a transition period has a big impact on indigenous Chinese financial institutions, as they are facing significant changes in areas ranging from market competition to the regulatory environment. Further opening to outsiders will of course challenge China’s financial service enterprises, but it also means huge business opportunities and development potential for the market. Dissent has been on the rise, focusing on control over the pace and degree to which the market should be opened. At the same time, some experts are anxious about China’s financial security. Evidently, the General Agreement on Trade in Services has encompassed more than 95 percent of the world’s financial trade in services in its program toward trade liberalization. China will also be assured of a more open international financial environment in the global market. Against the backdrop of globalization, foreign institutions’ access to China’s financial market is a must, sooner or later. As a matter of fact, China has honored most of what it had pledged within the framework of its WTO entry agreement. If the previous fulfillment of commitments should be seen as a passive acceptance of relevant rules and regulations, China’s further financial openness to the outside world will take on a more proactive approach.
The three components of China’s financial industry—banking, insurance and securities—are moving at different paces in the opening-up process. The insurance sector has been most connected to the overseas market, with banks following and the securities sector bringing up the rear. Through the development of a few years, foreign institutions invested in the Chinese mainland are still testing the market, with many fewer clients and smaller assets than their Chinese counterparts. Statistics show that, to date, there are only around 200 foreign-funded financial institutions, occupying less than 2 percent of the total capital volume in the Chinese market. Lacking a complete network, it is predictable that foreign competitors won’t pose much of a threat to local industry leaders over the short term. By contrast, the business of Chinese companies has been greatly promoted as corporate governance has been improved, products have been diversified and service programs have been tailored to meet customers’ needs.
Actually, China’s financial industry has been awakened by its foreign rivals in the course of opening up. As Wu Xiaoling, Vice Governor of the People’s Bank of China, the central bank, said, the current financial reform has helped the Chinese people come to realize the effectiveness of financial tools and well adapt to the overseas capital to balance China’s economic development. In addition, Chinese financial institutions have significantly improved their management capacity.

—Beijing Review