Article-by-article comparison of the 123 agreements signed by China and India clearly indicates greater US trust and a softer approach towards India.
1. Article 2.1 states that each party to the agreement shall implement it in accordance with its national laws. In terms of international law, the provisions of China's 123 agreement are rather intrusive. Article 2.1 states that China may not invoke the provisions of its internal laws to justify violation of the agreement and that Chinese exports pursuant to the agreement will be subject to the US laws that are prevalent at the time of such exports. There is no such provision in the case of the Indian 123 (Article 16.4). It simply states that the agreement will be implemented in good faith and in accordance with the principles of international law.
2.The 123 agreement that China signed has barred the export of nuclear material or technology to China unless the US president certified that China was not assisting a third country that had not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to acquire nuclear weapons technology. This ensured that no transfers would take place till the US administration and Congress were satisfied that China had begun to adhere to international non-proliferation norms. Then President Bill Clinton provided such a certificate to Congress in 1998 and the US Congress approved implementation of the 123 agreement with China shortly after that.
