UN Arms Trade Treaty should be reached through consensus: China

UNITED NATIONS, April 2 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday insisted that the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), which regulates international trade in conventional weapons, should be reached through consensus and accepted by all parties.

The statement came as Wang Min, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, addressed a UN General Assembly meeting, where the ATT was finally approved. China was among 23 countries who abstained in the vote.

The vote at the GA took place after the UN conference on the treaty failed to adopt the pact last week due to a lack of consensus among 193 UN member states.

"China has all along supported the negotiations on the Arms Trade Treaty," Wang said. "We expect all parties to reach consensus on an effective treaty to regulate the conventional arms trade and to combat illicit trafficking of small arms and light weapons."

The Chinese envoy also expressed deep worries about the " possible negative precedent for multilateral arms control negotiations."

"China is not in favor of pushing through a multilateral arms control treaty at the GA which concerns the international security and the security of all nations," he said.

"To our regret, the draft resolution concerning the Arms Trade Treaty does not address the concerns of China," said Wang, explaining the reason for the abstention.

"We could support a treaty reached through consensus," he stressed. "Only by doing so can we ensure the universal support and effective implementation of the treaty."

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