China Resolutely Opposes Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in Any Form: Envoy

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, April 10, 2002

China Resolutely Opposes Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in Any Form: Envoy

At the first session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2005 NPT Review Conference opened Monday, China said that "It is a firm and sacred aspiration long cherished by the international community and a target identified in the Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) to eliminate all nuclear weapons," so "it is imperative to maintain and strengthen the universality, authority and vitality" of the treaty.

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China said Monday that "It is a firm and sacred aspiration long cherished by the international community and a target identified in the Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) to eliminate all nuclear weapons," so "it is imperative to maintain and strengthen the universality, authority and vitality" of the treaty.

The statement came as Hu Xiaodi, head of the Chinese delegation to the first session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2005 NPT Review Conference, which opened Monday morning.

"It is a firm and sacred aspiration long cherished by the international community and a target identified in the Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) to eliminate all nuclear weapons, realize a world free of nuclear weapons and promote security, stability and development," said Hu, who is the Chinese ambassador on disarmament.

To achieve the target, "it is imperative to maintain and strengthen the universality, authority and vitality of the NPT," he said.

The NPT, which entered into force in 1970 and extended indefinitely in 1990, requires that review conference be held every five year. The treaty, which has a total of 187 State parties, is regarded as the cornerstone of the global nuclear nonproliferation regime.

Not only the treaty itself but also factors beyond it are relevant, he said.

Firstly, an international environment of stability, cooperation and mutual trust must be created, he said.

"It is a prerequisite for all countries to have a sense of security, thus removing their motivation behind acquiring and having in their control nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction," he said.

The progress made in nuclear disarmament as a result of the relatively relaxed post-Cold War international relations is a testimony to all this, he said. "At present, it is most important to give up the unilateralist pursuit of absolute security."

"Acts that may endanger international peace and security and do harm to trust among countries must be avoided," he said.

Secondly, the integrity of the international disarmament and arms control legal regime should be maintained, he said.

In the past decades, the international treaties that have been concluded on arms control and disarmament have become a mutually complementary integrity that functions as a whole, he said.

"The breaching or weakening of any one treaty in the regime will affect the states parties' confidence in the whole treaty regime," he said.

"The NPT, as a treaty of principle of the regime, has its vitality closely related to other arms control treaties dealing with specific subjects," he said. "If such treaties were breached, the general targets of nuclear disarmament and nuclear nonproliferation established by the NPT would be beyond reach."

Thirdly, countries must faithfully implement their NPT obligations and the documents from NPT Review Conferences, he said. "As an international arms control treaty with the greatest universality and the best law-making effect, the NPT's influence extends far beyond its States parties."

"In a sense, the nuclear-weapon States parties, the non-nuclear weapon States parties and even States that are not parties to the treaty are obliged to abide by the spirit," he said.

China Calls for Balanced Approach to Nonproliferation

The nonproliferation and the peaceful use of energy, the two functions of the Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), should be balanced and State parties' rights to the peaceful use of nuclear energy should not be restricted in the name of preventing nuclear weapons proliferation.

"Along with the prevention of nuclear weapons proliferation, the important role of nuclear energy in exploring clean and efficient energy and in promoting economic and social progress of developing countries must be affirmed and enhanced," he said.

"This is an important condition for the NPT to keep its vitality and for the non-nuclear Weapon States to strictly abide by their non-nuclear weapon commitment," he said.

"As one of the nuclear capable members of the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), China constantly supports the agency's work and values the cooperation on the peaceful use of nuclear energy with other members organized and coordinated by the agency," he said.

Since joining the IAEA in 1984, China has always paid its voluntary contributions to technical cooperation in full and in a timely manner, he said, adding that China has signed intergovernmental agreements in the peaceful use of nuclear energy with 17 countries and conducted various forms of cooperation in this respect.

China has also actively participated in multilateral nuclear cooperation, he added.

China Resolutely Opposes Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in Any Form

China, as a party to the Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), "has always adopted a serious and responsible attitude towards preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons," and "China never engages in and resolutely opposes the proliferation of nuclear weapons in any form" .

"To fulfill efficiently its nonproliferation obligations, Chinahas, on the one hand, sped up nuclear export control legislation and regime," he said. "China also exercises a monopolizing and licensing system of nuclear export."

The Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Nuclear Material Control, the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Nuclear Export Control and the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Control of Nuclear Dual-Use Items and Related Technologies were issued in 1987, 1997 and 1998 respectively.

"I also would like to take this opportunity to announce that China has completed the domestic legal procedures for the ProtocolAdditional to the Safeguards Agreement to enter into force," he said,

China formally notified the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of the matter on March 28, and as of that day, the Additional Protocol has become effective in China, he said. "Chinais the first among the five Nuclear Weapon States to do so. This fully reflects China's positive and responsible attitude towards strengthening the effectiveness of the safeguards regime and fulfilling her nonproliferation obligations."

After the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, "the prevention of nuclear weapons proliferation and nuclear terror has become even more important and urgent," he said. "Chinasupports IAEA to step up efforts in this regard."

"China will, based on agreement reached by all parties, make her contribution to the strengthened international efforts in nuclear nonproliferation and nuclear anti-terror," he said.

"As a nuclear weapon State, China has never shied away from herresponsibility in nuclear disarmament," he said. "China has, with her own action, made unique contribution to international nuclear disarmament."

"China consistently advocates a complete prohibition and thorough destruction of nuclear weapons," he said. "China has, ever since coming into possession of nuclear weapons, undertaken unconditionally not to be the first to use nuclear weapons and notto use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapons States or nuclear-weapon-free zones."

"China has along urged all Nuclear Weapon States to confirm theaforementioned commitment in legal form." he said. "China has always exercised utmost restraint towards developing nuclear weapons, kept her nuclear arsenal at the minimum level for self-defense."

"China has never been in any nuclear arms race, nor has it deployed any nuclear weapons outside of China," he said. "China firmly believes that comprehensively banning nuclear test explosions is an important step in the process towards the complete prohibition and thorough destruction of nuclear weapons."

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