According to a joint statement released at the end of the talks between Chinese premier Zhu Rongji and his visiting British counterpart Tony Blair here, the two sides stressed their commitment to the UN resolution 1172 of June which calls for unconditional adherence to the CTBT.

``The two sides stress their commitment to non-proliferation, and full support for Security Council resolution 1172,'' the joint statement said.

The two countries asked India and Pakistan to sign the global non-proliferation treaties. However, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Tang Guoqiang told reporters that the two premiers did not have time to discuss the situation in South Asia after New Delhi and Islamabad conducted nuclear tests.

``Due to the time limit, the two sides did not discuss the situation in South Asia. However, the two prime ministerswill continue their discussions on the bilateral and international matters of common concern on other occasions,'' Tang said.

The statement said as parties to the treaty on non-proliferation, and biological and chemical weapons convention, the two sides would continue commitment to the prevention of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery vehicles and would step up bilateral and international cooperation to this end.