Hu to attend nuke summit in Seoul

President Hu Jintao will begin his first overseas trip of the year by attending two multilateral summits committed to tackling thorny nuclear security issues and enhancing cooperation among world's leading emerging economies.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said on Monday that Hu will attend the second Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul and a meeting of leaders from the BRICS nations grouping Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa in New Delhi from Mar 26 to 29, followed by a state visit to Cambodia from Mar 30 to April 2.

Hu's visit to Cambodia, the current chair country of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, will help China improve relations in the region, analysts said.

The foreign ministry said in a press release on its website that Hu will illustrate China's nuclear security policies and efforts in the sector at the nuclear summit, a meeting aimed at enhancing nuclear materials and facility safety and preventing nuclear terrorism.

The Seoul summit is also expected to focus on specific guidelines for nuclear safety.

The Republic of Korea announced that 53 heads of state and chiefs of international organizations such as the International Atomic Energy Agency will attend the summit.

Although the summit is held on the Korean Peninsula and will be attended by leaders from five countries that are members of the Six-Party Talks, the reduction of nuclear weapons and nuclear nonproliferation are not on the agenda for the summit, the ROK's Dong-A Ilbo newspaper reported.

If Hu meets with US President Barack Obama, he will probably stress the importance of nuclear safety and call for the further implementation of China-US cooperative agreements reached during his visit to the US in 2011, said Fan Jishe, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Hu will also discuss economic, financial and development issues with other BRICS leaders during their meeting in New Dehli, according to Hong, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman.

The BRICS leaders meeting will focus on stimulating growth in the global economy and enhancing financial cooperation among the countries, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said during a meeting with the media earlier in March.

India Today reported in a March 10 article that the New Dehli summit aims to create a mechanism for lending in local currencies to maximize financial transactions among the five-member bloc.

Currently, investments are made in globally accepted currencies, the US dollar and the euro, which face fluctuations amid the global economic crisis. Investing in local currencies could safeguard investments among BRICS economies, said the report.

The theme of the summit will be the "BRICS Partnership for Global Stability, Security and Prosperity". The BRICS economies hold 40 percent of the world's currency reserves, the majority of which is still in US dollars. They account for 40 percent of the world's population and 20 percent of global GDP.

During the global recession, emerging economies such as China and India serve as a stronger engine for international economic growth, said Lou Chunhao, a professor of South Asian studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.

Cambodia visit

Hu's visit to Cambodia will take place after he greets the president of Indonesia in Beijing this week, the past chair country of the ASEAN summit.

High-level exchanges between China and ASEAN countries will help strengthen the traditional friendship and sooth the somewhat strained ties between China and some of its Asian neighbors over different claims on maritime and islands sovereignty, said Luo Yongkun, an ASEAN studies expert with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.

China, Vietnam, Brunei, the Philippines and Malaysia all hold claims to some of the South China Sea and its islands.

China has agreed with some of these countries to settle the disputes with caution and not to let these maritime disputes affect bilateral ties.

With Cambodia becoming the incumbent chair country of ASEAN, China needs to strengthen communication with the country because Cambodia might help coordinate ties between China and other ASEAN countries over bilateral diplomacy and cooperation, Luo said.