China urges global efforts on nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation

A Chinese envoy on Monday called for joint efforts by the international community to promote nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

"The complete prohibition and thorough destruction of nuclear weapons and the eventual establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free world are a shared aspiration of the international community," said Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations (UN).

All countries should join hands in practicing true multilateralism, adhere to the concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, resolutely reject the Cold War mentality and bloc confrontation, continuously strengthen the authority and effectiveness of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and jointly promote nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, Zhang told a Security Council meeting on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

Nuclear weapon states should explore feasible measures to reduce strategic risks, negotiate and conclude a treaty on the first use of nuclear weapons against each other, and provide legally binding negative security assurances to non-nuclear weapon states, he said.

The countries concerned should reduce the role of nuclear weapons in their national and collective security policies, renounce the deployment of a global missile defense system, refrain from seeking the deployment of intermediate-range missiles in the Asia-Pacific region or in Europe, and stop nuclear sharing and the so-called extended deterrence, so as to maintain the global strategic balance and stability through practical actions, he said.

Nuclear weapons are a product of history, and nuclear disarmament will naturally have a historical process, said Zhang.

Demanding that countries with vastly different nuclear policies and the number of nuclear weapons assume the same level of nuclear disarmament and nuclear transparency obligations is not consistent with the logic of history and reality, nor is it in line with international consensus, and as such will only lead international nuclear disarmament to a dead end, he said.

The United States should continue to fulfill its special and priority responsibility to further reduce its nuclear arsenal in a drastic and substantive manner, so as to create conditions for other nuclear weapon states to join the nuclear disarmament process, he said.

Zhang also stressed the need to safeguard the international nuclear non-proliferation regime.

Non-proliferation hotspot issues such as the nuclear issues of the Korean Peninsula and Iran have complex historical backgrounds and are closely linked to the lack of continuity of the non-proliferation policies of a certain country, he said.

"All parties should adhere to political and diplomatic efforts to address each other's legitimate security concerns through dialogue and balanced solutions. The United States should abandon the threat of use and the use of sanctions and pressure," he said.

The U.S. nuclear submarine cooperation with certain countries carries a high risk of nuclear proliferation, said Zhang. "It is a serious violation of the objective and the purpose of the NPT and undermines regional peace and stability. Therefore, corrective measures should be adopted."

The international community should pay attention to the needs of developing countries for the peaceful use of nuclear energy, increase relevant financial and technical assistance, and help implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, said Zhang.

Relevant countries should stop generalizing the concept of national security, stop drawing lines on the basis of ideology and stop using non-proliferation export control as a political tool to suppress other countries and to pursue the agenda of decoupling and breaking up supply chains, he said.

Zhang said China has always advocated the complete prohibition and thorough destruction of nuclear weapons.

Regardless of changes in the international landscape, China will honor its commitment of no first use of nuclear weapons, firmly pursue its nuclear strategy of self-defense, refrain from participating in any form of nuclear arms race, continue to maintain its nuclear force at a minimal level required for its national security, and continue to work to promote international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, he said.

Speaking at Monday's Security Council meeting, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that today's geopolitical tensions and mistrust have escalated the risk of nuclear warfare to "its highest point in decades."

(With input from Xinhua)