China signs all international treaties on non-proliferation: white paper

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, December 03, 2003

China signs all international treaties on non-proliferation: white paper

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China has signed all international treaties related to non-proliferation and joined most of the relevant international organizations, hoping to promote the constant development of the multilateral non-proliferation regime, according to a white paper issued on Wednesday by the State Council Information Office.

The White Paper, titled China's Non-Proliferation Policy and Measures, said China started acceding to a series of international on-proliferation treaties since 1984, which include the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction (BWC), as well as the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction (CWC).

It noted that China once made great contributions to the conclusion of some treaties mentioned above.

In the nuclear field, China signed the Protocol Additional to the Agreement Between China and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for the Application of Safeguards in China in 1998, and in early 2002 formally completed the domestic legal procedures necessary for the entry into force of the Additional Protocol, thus becoming the first nuclear-weapon state to fulfill the relevant procedures.

China had also clearly committed itself to signing the protocol to the Southeast Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty and to supporting the establishment of a Central Asian nuclear-weapon-free region, revealed the White Paper.

Previously, China already signed and ratified the protocols to the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean, the South Pacific Nuclear-Free Zone Treaty, and the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty.

Meanwhile, China also actively participated in the work of IAEA and other related international organizations, supported the IAEA's efforts in preventing potential nuclear terrorist activities, and played a constructive role in the revision of the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials, said the White Paper.

China joined IAEA in 1984, voluntarily placing its civilian nuclear facilities under IAEA's safeguards.

China also enjoyed a repute for active cooperation with related on-proliferation organizations in the chemical field. According to the White Paper, by the end of October 2003, China had received68 on-site verifications by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

In addition, China always adopts a positive and open attitude toward all international proposals for strengthening the missile non-proliferation mechanism.

China had taken part in the work of the UN Group of Governmental Experts on Missiles, as well as the international discussions on the draft of the International Code of Conduct Against Ballistic Missile Proliferation and the proposal of a Global Control System, the White Paper disclosed.

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