China respects and supports the efforts by relevant countries and regions to establish nuclear-weapon-free zones or WMD(weapon of mass destruction)-free zones on the basis of consultations among themselves and voluntary agreements in light of actual regional conditions, says a white paper issued Thursday by the Information Office of the State Council.

China believes, the paper says, that nuclear-weapon states should respect the status of nuclear-weapon-free zones and assume corresponding obligations.

Proceeding from this position, China has signed and ratified Protocol II of the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean, Protocols II and III of the South Pacific Nuclear-Free Zone Treaty and Protocols I and II of the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty.

According to the paper, China supports the efforts by the ASEAN countries and the five Central Asian countries to establish nuclear-weapon-free zones and is ready to sign relevant protocols as early as possible after the countries concerned have reached agreement on the texts.

China supports endeavors to establish nuclear-weapon-free and WMD-free zones in the Middle East and hopes to see its early realization.

China respects and welcomes Mongolia's status as a nuclear-weapon-free country and supports denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Source: Xinhua