China supports thorough destruction of nuclear weapons, white paper

It is the shared aspiration of the international community as well as the goal of China to thoroughly destroy nuclear weapons and free the world from such weapons, said a white paper issued Thursday by the Information Office of the State Council.

The end of the Cold War and the new security situation have made possible the substantial reduction of nuclear weapons, and then complete prohibition and thorough destruction of such weapons, said the white paper titled China's Endeavors for Arms Control, Disarmament and Non-Proliferation.

Pushing forward nuclear disarmament process is of great significance to reducing the danger of nuclear proliferation, improving international security environment and promoting world peace and development.

According to the paper, China maintains that nuclear-weapon states should take the following measures to further promote nuclear disarmament process.

- An international legal instrument on the complete prohibition and thorough destruction of nuclear weapons should be concluded at an early date.

- Nuclear disarmament should be a just and reasonable process of gradual reduction toward a downward balance. The two countries possessing the largest nuclear arsenals bear special and primary responsibilities for nuclear disarmament. They should earnestly comply with the treaties already concluded on reduction of nuclear weapons and further reduce their nuclear arsenals in a verifiable and irreversible manner so as to create conditions for achieving the ultimate goal of complete and thorough nuclear disarmament.

- Before the goal of complete prohibition and thorough destruction of nuclear weapons is achieved, nuclear-weapon states should commit themselves to no first use of nuclear weapons and undertake unconditionally not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon states or nuclear-weapon-free zones.

- Nuclear-weapon states should abandon the policies of nuclear deterrence based on the first use of nuclear weapons and reduce the role of nuclear weapons in their national security.

- Nuclear disarmament measures, including intermediate measures, should follow the guidelines of maintaining global strategic balance and stability and undiminished security for all.

- The Conference on Destruction should reach an agreement on program of work soon so as to begin at an early date negotiations on the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty and to establish Ad Hoc Committees and start substantive work on such issues as nuclear disarmament and security assurances to non-nuclear-weapon states.

Source: Xinhua