This Aug 2, 2022 photo from the official Twitter account of Fu Cong shows Fu Cong, director-general of the Department of Arms Control of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, speaking at the 10th Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons at the UN headquarters in New York.
UNITED NATIONS – The countries with the largest nuclear arsenals should further conduct a significant and substantive reduction in their nuclear arsenals in a verifiable, irreversible and legally binding manner, said a Chinese disarmament official on Tuesday.
The principles of "maintaining global strategic stability" and "undiminished security for all" should be followed in the practices of nuclear disarmament, Fu Cong told the 10th Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
Nuclear-weapon states also need to work together to reduce nuclear risks, said Fu Cong, head of the Chinese delegation and director-general of the Department of Arms Control of the Chinese Foreign Ministry
The countries with the largest nuclear arsenals taking the lead in reduction will create conditions for other nuclear-weapon states to join the nuclear disarmament process, he said.
Nuclear-weapon states also need to work together to reduce nuclear risks, said Fu, head of the Chinese delegation and director-general of the Department of Arms Control of the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
ALSO READ: Chance to clear gathering nuclear clouds
On Jan 3 this year, the leaders of China, Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom and France issued a joint statement, stressing that a nuclear war cannot be won and must not be fought, and reaffirming that none of their nuclear weapons are targeted at each other or at any other state. This historic statement is helpful in enhancing mutual trust among major countries, preventing nuclear wars, and avoiding an arms race, he said.
On this basis, the five nuclear-weapon states need to further strengthen communication on strategic stability, and conduct in-depth dialogue on reducing the role of nuclear weapons in their national security doctrines and on a broad range of issues, including missile defense, outer space, cyberspace, and artificial intelligence, said Fu.
Nuclear-weapon states should also strengthen dialogue with non-nuclear-weapon states to enhance mutual understanding and support, he added.
China is firmly committed to the path of peaceful development and a nuclear strategy of self-defense, and undertakes not to be the first to use nuclear weapons at any time and under any circumstances, he said.
ALSO READ: Iran says it responded to EU proposal to salvage nuke deal
While firmly safeguarding its national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, China always keeps its nuclear capability at the minimum level required for safeguarding national security, he said. "We never compete with any country on the input, quantity or scale of nuclear capability, nor do we participate in any form of nuclear arms race with any other country. With a high level of stability, consistency and predictability, China's nuclear policy in itself is an important contribution to the international nuclear disarmament endeavor."
The international community should reject double standards in the area of nuclear non-proliferation, Fu added.
The nuclear-powered submarine cooperation between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia poses severe nuclear proliferation risks, in contravention of the purposes and principles of the NPT, he said.
This review conference should conduct in-depth discussions on its implications in all aspects, including its challenges to the safeguards system of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in order to firmly uphold the international non-proliferation regime, he said.
On the Iran nuclear deal, he said all parties concerned should stay committed to bringing the deal back on track at an early date through diplomatic negotiations, and reject the practices of pressuring with sanctions and threat of force. The United States should completely lift its relevant illegal sanctions on Iran and long-arm jurisdiction measures on third parties. On that basis, Iran should return to full compliance with its nuclear commitments.
ALSO READ: Kim says DPRK ready to mobilize nuclear war deterrent
The security situation on the Korean Peninsula remains complex and severe. There is a need to follow the dual-track approach and the principle of phased and synchronized actions in advancing the process toward the establishment of a peace mechanism and the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
"The so-called nuclear sharing arrangements run counter to the provisions of the NPT and increase the risks of nuclear proliferation and nuclear conflicts," he said. "The United States should withdraw all its nuclear weapons from Europe and refrain from deploying nuclear weapons in any other region."
The relevant non-nuclear-weapon states should earnestly fulfill their NPT obligations and their own commitments, and stop instigating nuclear sharing or other forms of nuclear deterrence arrangements. Any attempt to replicate NATO's nuclear sharing model in the Asia-Pacific region would undermine regional strategic stability and would be firmly opposed by the countries in the region and, when necessary, face severe countermeasures, he said.