On Wednesday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi spoke at the opening of the Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, where he announced that he would present a report on the results of the AUKUS partnership to the Board of Governors in September.
The official also expressed satisfaction with "the engagement and transparency shown by the three countries thus far." One of the issues on the agenda in Austria was nuclear submarine cooperation and AUKUS in particular.
Zhao said that the continued discussion of "transfer of nuclear materials in the context of AUKUS" demonstrates that the issue raises concerns from the global community.
"China calls on all member states to support and actively participate in IAEA discussions of AUKUS nuclear submarine cooperation to jointly defend the international non-proliferation system with the NPT [Non-Proliferation Treaty] as the cornerstone and safeguard world peace and security," Zhao said.
The spokesman reiterated Beijing's stance that nuclear submarine cooperation poses a grave risk of nuclear proliferation and damages stability and peace in the region, urging the AUKUS states to be responsible and "refrain from conducting nuclear submarine cooperation before parties reach a consensus."
Australia, the US and the UK announced a new trilateral defense partnership called AUCUS last September. Australia prioritized it over a $66 billion contract with France for 12 conventionally powered military submarines, after AUKUS partners promised it technology to develop its own nuclear-powered submarines.
Paris condemned the move as a betrayal of trust between the states.
In December, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, agreed that the AUKUS partnership undermines nuclear balance and increases tensions in the region.