China calls for political efforts in preventing nuclear proliferation

China on Tuesday called for political efforts in honoring the principles of the nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), saying that the international community needs to address both the symptoms and root causes of the nuclear proliferation issue.

Zhang Yan, director general of the Department of Arms Control and Disarmament of the Chinese Foreign Ministry made the call as Head of the Chinese Delegation at the General Debate in the First Session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2010 NPT Review Conference.

Zhang said that the risk of nuclear weapon proliferation poses severe threats to international peace and has become a prominent issue of international security.

According to Zhang, in opposing proliferation of nuclear weapons, the international community firstly should follow the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and other universally recognized norms of international laws, to create an international environment featuring peace, stability and common security.

Countries should respect each other's security interests and give up the policy of pursuing unilateral security, to create a harmonious international atmosphere of mutual trust, which will provide the necessary conditions for eliminating the motivation of seeking nuclear weapons and achieving the goal of non-proliferation, Zhang said.

Secondly, regional and international non-proliferation issues should be addressed through dialogue and negotiations. Exerting pressure, imposing sanctions or resorting to force are not effective ways to resolve problems.

Zhang said the UN Security Council may play certain roles in dealing with major non-proliferation issues. However, diplomatic efforts beyond the Security Council are equally important and more effective, he added.

Thirdly, the international community should advance with the times and seek a fair, reasonable and effective way to enhance the nuclear non-proliferation regime through extensive consultations, Zhang said.

He pointed out that with new developments in the international situation as well as science and technology, the weaknesses and deficiencies of the existing international non-proliferation regime have been exposed.

Under the current situation, countries should consider measures such as beefing up the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)'s role in safeguarding, promoting the universality of the Additional protocol, and enhancing each country's non-proliferation and export control legislation and law enforcement, Zhang said.

Source: Xinhua