A Chinese diplomat proposed four points on nuclear disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation and the peaceful uses of nuclear energy while attending the general debate of the first meeting of the preparatory committee for the 2026 NPT Review Conference in Vienna on Monday.

Sun Xiaobo, director-general of the Department of Arms Control of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said due to growing geopolitical conflicts, the return of the Cold-War mentality, and intensified risks of nuclear arms races and nuclear conflicts, the international security and development governance system represented by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is facing severe challenges.

To maintain global security, he first stressed the need to promote nuclear disarmament, but said it should be carried out rationally and pragmatically. Sun said that China advocates the complete prohibition and thorough destruction of nuclear weapons, proposes not to use nuclear weapons first at any time and under any circumstances, and unconditionally commits itself not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against any non-nuclear-weapon States or nuclear-weapon-free-zones. 

He added that nuclear disarmament should be advanced in a step-by-step manner considering the varied situations of different countries. China has been keeping its nuclear capabilities at the minimum level required for national security, and the priority now is that the countries with the largest nuclear arsenals should further reduce their nuclear arsenals in a significant and substantive manner, so as to create the conditions for other nuclear-weapon States to join the nuclear disarmament process, Sun said.

In his second proposal, Sun highlighted to strengthen international cooperation to reduce strategic risks. He called on nuclear-weapon States to negotiate and conclude a treaty on the mutual no-first-use of nuclear weapons, and advocated negotiations of an international legal instrument providing security assurances to non-nuclear-weapon States at the Conference on Disarmament. 

The Chinese diplomat also called on the relevant countries to cease the deployment of global missile defense systems, refrain from deploying land-based intermediate-range missiles in the Asia-Pacific and Europe, withdraw nuclear weapons deployed overseas, and give up the attempt to replicate "nuclear sharing" arrangements in the Asia Pacific.

Sun also mentioned Iran nuclear deal, the Korean Peninsula issue, and the AUKUS nuclear agreement, saying the international society should uphold true multilateralism in this regard. He said that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is the effective solution to the Iranian nuclear issue and the parties concerned should restart negotiations and restore the full implementation of the deal. As for the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, all parties should address their concerns through dialogue, and follow the dual-track approach to promote the establishment of a peace mechanism and realize the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. 

He added that the AUKUS nuclear submarine cooperation poses serious nuclear proliferation risks and undermines regional peace and stability, so China proposed that it should be discussed through an open, inclusive, transparent and sustainable intergovernmental process and that decisions should be made by all relevant parties.

Sun said China acknowledges the growing need of international society, especially developing countries, for peaceful uses of nuclear energy and nuclear technology, and it supports the central role of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in promoting international nuclear energy cooperation and opts for increasing financial and technical assistance to developing countries for their own development interests. But China opposes using non-proliferation as a political tool for decoupling, the Chinese diplomat stressed. 

Sun added that nuclear energy utilization should not be achieved at the cost of the natural environment and human health, calling on the Japanese government to address the concerns of the international community on its decision of discharging Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean.

"China is willing to work with all parties to strengthen the universality, authority and effectiveness of NPT, and to address the complex and intertwined challenges of international security and development with a win-win mindset," said Sun.