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

China Reaffirms Position on Nuclear Weapons, Tests

China has long stood for the complete prohibition and thorough destruction of nuclear weapons and has actively participated in all the preparatory work of the Complete Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), Zhang Yan, Chinese Ambassador to U.N. and other international organizations in Vienna, said Tuesday in Vienna.


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There have been certain recent negative developments
China has long stood for the complete prohibition and thorough destruction of nuclear weapons and has actively participated in all the preparatory work of the Complete Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), Zhang Yan, Chinese Ambassador to U.N. and other international organizations in Vienna, said Tuesday in Vienna.

Speaking at the 17th session of the Preparatory Commission (PreCom) for CTBTO, which opened Tuesday, Zhang, also head of the Chinese delegation at the meeting, noted that there have been certain recent negative developments that are at odds with the object and purpose of the treaty and incompatible with the PreCom's efforts.

He cautioned that, as a result, the achievements registered over the years in arms control and non-proliferation may go down the drain.

"This cannot but arouse the concern of the international community," Zhang noted.

China calls for international efforts
It is essential to create an enabling international environment for countries to trust and support the Complete Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), Zhang said.

He called for international efforts to foster a new security concept of seeking security through cooperation, dialogue, mutual trust and development so as to eliminate the driving imperatives of certain countries to acquire and develop nuclear weapons and help renounce the nuclear deterrence strategy based on the first-use of nuclear weapons.

"It is imperative that the security of all countries be sought within the framework of cooperative and collective security and through dialogue and cooperation," Zhang noted.

China has taken active part in CTBT negotiations
China has taken an active part in the negotiations of the CTBT and is among the first batch of countries which signed the treaty, Zhang pointed out.

China has recently completed its legal procedures for the entry-into-force of the Protocol Additional to the Agreement between the People's Republic of China and the International Atomic Energy Agency for the Application of Safeguards, Zhang said, adding China is the very first among the five nuclear states to complete the legal procedures.

"All these have fully demonstrated the positive position China has taken on matters concerning nuclear-weapon test ban, nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation," Zhang noted.

About CTBT
The PreCom for CTBTO was created in November 1996 with the responsibility for carrying out preparatory work for the treaty to take effect. Its members include all the signatory states to the CTBT.

So far, 165 countries have signed the CTBT and 90 countries have ratified it. The build-up of the verification regime of the treaty, especially the International Monitoring System, is well underway.

The 17th session of the PreCom for CTBTO is scheduled to conclude on April 12.



History of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT)
Background
Arms control advocates had campaigned for the adoption of a treaty banning all nuclear explosions since the early 1950s, when public concern was aroused as a result of radioactive fall-out from atmospheric nuclear tests and the escalating arms race.

Over 50 nuclear explosions were registered between 16 July 1945, when the first nuclear explosive test was conducted by the United States at Alamogordo, New Mexico, and 31 December 1953.

Prime Minister Nehru of India voiced the heightened international concern in 1954, when he proposed the elimination of all nuclear test explosions worldwide.

However, within the context of the cold war, scepticism in the capability to verify compliance with a comprehensive nuclear-test ban-treaty posed a major obstacle to any agreement.

Partial Test Ban Treaty, 1963
Limited success was achieved with the signing of the Partial Test Ban Treaty in 1963, which banned nuclear tests in the atmosphere, underwater and in space. However, neither France nor China, both nuclear weapon States, signed the PTBT.

Non-proliferation Treaty, 1968
A major step towards the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons came with the signing of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1968. Under the NPT, non-nuclear weapon States were prohibited from, inter alia, possessing, manufacturing or acquiring nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices. All signatories were committed to the goal of nuclear disarmament.

Negotiations for the CTBT Given the political situation prevailing in the subsequent decades, little progress was made in nuclear disarmament until 1991. Parties to the PTBT held an amendment conference that year to discuss a proposal to convert the Treaty into an instrument banning all nuclear-weapon tests; with strong support from the UN General Assembly, negotiations for a comprehensive test-ban treaty began in 1993.

Adoption of the CTBT, 1996
Intensive efforts were made over the next three years to draft the Treaty text and its two annexes, culminating in the adoption of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) on 10 September 1996 by the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The CTBT, which prohibits all nuclear test explosions in all environments, was opened for signature in New York on 24 September 1996, when it was signed by 71 States, including the five nuclear-weapon States.

        
World leaders signing the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (left to right): United States of America, China, France, Russian Federation and United Kingdom.

Further information please visit http://www.ctbto.org





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