Mr. Chairman,
First of all, please
allow me to express, on behalf of the Chinese Delegation,
our sincere congratulations to you on your election to the
chairmanship of this session of the PrepCom. It is
my belief that with your rich diplomatic experience and
outstanding talents, the meeting will surely be guided to a
success. I would like to assure you of the support
and cooperation of the Chinese Delegation in your
work.
Mr. Chairman,
At the same
venue two years ago, the 2000 NPT Review Conference
successfully convened. At that time, even though
there had been some negative developments in the
international security field, destabilizing factors on the
rise, and the international non-proliferation regime under
severe challenge, parties to the conference, in a spirit of
cooperation and understanding, worked together for the
conclusion of a Final Document, identifying the objectives
for the next stage of international disarmament and
non-proliferation efforts. That testifies to the
fact that to strengthen NPT review and implementation,
consolidate the international nuclear non-proliferation
regime and safeguard world peace and security represent the
common interest and aspiration of the majority of countries
in the world.
Since then two years have passed.
Yet today we note not without regret that the
provisions of the Final Document of the 2000 NPT Review
Conference have not been fully materialized and that new
negative developments which have an impact on the NPT review
process and detriment to international security environment
have occurred. The ABM Treaty, which is widely
recognized by the international community as a cornerstone
of strategic stability, is becoming history. The
BWC Protocol, which had been under negotiation for seven
years, was rejected. The CTBT is seeing a grimmer
prospect of entry into force due to a negative attitude
towards it. The bloodshed in the Middle East is
continuing. And most recently, even more
disturbing developments have been observed in the nuclear
field. All of these have added to the uncertain
and destabilizing factors in the international security
field. Their adverse effects on the NPT review and
implementation process must not be
neglected.
Mr. Chairman,
It is a
firm and sacred aspiration long cherished by the
international community and a target identified in the NPT
to eliminate all nuclear weapons, realize a world free of
nuclear weapons and promote security, stability, peace and
development. To achieve the above-mentioned
target, it is imperative to maintain and strengthen the
universality, authority and vitality of the NPT.
As such, not only the Treaty itself but also
factors beyond it are relevant.
First, an
international environment of stability, cooperation and
mutual trust must be created. It is a prerequisite
for all countries to have a sense of security, thus removing
their motivation behind acquiring and having in their
control nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass
destruction. The progress made in nuclear
disarmament as a result of the relatively relaxed post-Cold
War international relations is a testimony to this.
At present, it is most important to give up the
unilateralist pursuit of absolute security.
Instead, common security for all countries should
be pursued through multilateral efforts. Acts that
may endanger international peace and security and do harm to
trust among countries must be avoided. All states
should work together to maintain global strategic stability
and prevent an arms race in outer space. Countries
with the largest nuclear arsenals bear special and primary
responsibility for nuclear disarmament and should continue
reducing on a large scale their nuclear arms in a legally
binding, verifiable and irreversible manner.
Nuclear-weapon states should continue their
moratoria on nuclear explosion test, persevere in CTBT
ratification and entry into force, refrain from the
development of new type of nuclear weapons and provide
negative security assurances to non-nuclear-weapons states
unconditionally.
Second, the integrity of the
international disarmament and arms control legal regime
should be maintained. In the past decades, the
international treaties that have been concluded on arms
control and disarmament have become a mutually complementary
integrity that functions as a whole. Breach or
weakening of any one treaty in the regime will impact on the
states parties? confidence in the whole treaty regime.
The NPT, as a treaty of principle of the regime,
has its vitality closely related to other arms control
treaties dealing with specific subjects. If such
treaties were breached, the general targets of nuclear
disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation established by the
NPT would be beyond reach.
Third, countries
must faithfully implement their NPT obligations and the
documents from NPT Review Conferences. As an
international arms control treaty with the greatest
universality and the best law-making effect, the NPT?s
influence extends far beyond its states parties.
In a sense, the nuclear-weapon States parties, the
non-nuclear weapon states parties and even states that are
not parties to the Treaty are obliged to abide by its
spirit. In this connection, the documents from the
NPT review process, the Final Documents of the 1995 Review
and Extension Conference and 2000 Review Conference in
particular, must be faithfully implemented.
However, it is regrettable that some important
provisions about nuclear disarmament and regional
non-proliferation in the Final Document of the 2000 NPT
Review Conference have not been carried out and some have
even been breached. It will certainly impact on
the authority of the NPT and the documents from its review
process and therefore undermine people?s confidence in them.
In this regard, the challenges confronting the NPT
and its review process must not be
overlooked.
Mr. Chairman,
Let me
now expound on the policies, actions and stands taken by the
Chinese Government in nuclear non-proliferation, nuclear
disarmament and peaceful uses of nuclear
energy.
As a state party to the NPT, China has
always adopted a serious and responsible attitude towards
preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
China never engages in and resolutely opposes the
proliferation of nuclear weapons in any form. To
fulfil efficiently its non-proliferation obligations, China
has, on one hand,sped up nuclear export
control legislation and regime. The Regulations of
the People’s Republic of China on Nuclear Material
Control, the Regulations of the People’s Republic of
China on Nuclear Export Control and the Regulations of the
People’s Republic of China on the Control of Nuclear
Dual-Use Items and Related Technologies Export were issued
in 1987, 1997 and 1998 respectively. China also
exercises a monopolizing and licensing system of nuclear
export. In October 1997 China became a member of
the ?Zangger Committee?, an important component of the
international nuclear export control regime. On
the other hand, China actively supports and participates in
the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards
activities. At present, nine nuclear facilities
are under IAEA safeguards through the Safeguards Agreement
between China and the IAEA. I also would like to
take this opportunity to announce that China has completed
the domestic legal procedures for the Protocol Additional to
the Safeguards Agreement to enter into force.
China formally notified the IAEA of the matter on
March 28, 2002. And as of that day, the Additional
Protocol has become effective in China. China is
the first among the five Nuclear Weapon States to do so.
This fully reflects China?s positive and
responsible attitude towards strengthening the effectiveness
of the safeguards regime and fulfilling her
non-proliferation obligations.
After Sep. 11, prevention of nuclear
weapons proliferation and nuclear terror has become even
more important and urgent. China supports IAEA to
step up efforts in this regard. China has actively
participated in amending the Convention on Physical
Protection of Nuclear Material. China will, based
on agreement reached by all parties, make her contribution
to the strengthened international efforts in nuclear
non-proliferation and nuclear anti-terror.
As a
nuclear weapon State, China has never shied away from her
responsibility in nuclear disarmament. China has,
with her own action, made unique contribution to
international nuclear disarmament. China
consistently advocates a complete prohibition and thorough
destruction of nuclear weapons. China has, ever
since coming into possession of nuclear weapons, undertaken
unconditionally not to be the first to use nuclear weapons
and not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against
non-nuclear weapon States or nuclear-weapon-free zones.
China has along urged all Nuclear Weapon States to
confirm the aforementioned commitment in legal form.
China has always exercised utmost restraint
towards developing nuclear weapons, kept her nuclear arsenal
at the minimum level for self-defense. China has
never been in any nuclear arms race, nor has it deployed any
nuclear weapons outside of China. China firmly
believes that comprehensively banning nuclear test
explosions is an important step in the process towards the
complete prohibition and thorough destruction of nuclear
weapons. China supports an early entry into force
of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, is committed
to its ratification at an early date, and supports and
participates in the preparatory work for the CTBTO with
concrete actions. China supports the Conference on
Disarmament in reaching a program of work agreed by all
parties and begin to negotiate, according to the mandate of
the ?Shannon Report?, a multilateral, non-discriminative and
internationally and effectively verifiable treaty banning
the production of fissile material for nuclear
weapons.
China believes that the NPT?s two
functions of non-proliferation and peaceful uses of nuclear
energy should be balanced and that state parties? rights to
peaceful uses of nuclear energy should not be restricted in
the name of preventing nuclear weapons proliferation.
Along with the prevention of nuclear weapons
proliferation, the important role of nuclear energy in
exploring clean and efficient energy and in promoting
economic and social progress of developing countries must be
affirmed and enhanced. This is an important
condition for the NPT to keep its vitality and for
non-nuclear Weapon States to strictly abide by their
non-nuclear weapon commitment. As one of the
nuclear capable members of the IAEA, China constantly
supports the Agency?s work and values the co-operation on
peaceful uses of nuclear energy with other members organized
and coordinated by the Agency. Since joining IAEA
in 1984, China has always paid its voluntary contributions
to technical cooperation in full and in a timely manner.
China has signed intergovernmental agreements in
peaceful uses of nuclear energy with 17 countries and
conducted various forms of cooperation in this respect.
China has also actively participated in
multilateral nuclear cooperation. To date, China
has signed or acceded to 12 international conventions on
peaceful uses of nuclear energy, including the Convention on
Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and the Convention
on Nuclear Safety.
Mr.
Chairman,
This meeting is the first session of
the PrepCom of a new round of the NPT review process in the
new century. It should naturally play a role in
linking the past and the future. As to the purpose
of this meeting, there are explicit provisions in the Final
Document of the 2000 NPT Review Conference, that is, to
consider the principles, objectives and methods of promoting
comprehensive compliance and enhancing universality of NPT
so as to lay a good foundation for the submission of
proposals by the third session of the PrepCom to the Review
Conference. In this connection, the meeting should
focus on listening to the opinions of all parties.
Correspondingly, the final result of this meeting
should also be an objective reflection of the positions
expressed. It is the view of the Chinese
Delegation that due to limited time available, over emphasis
on a word-by-word or sentence-by-sentence negotiation is
likely to impact on the discussions of substantive issues
and deviate the meeting from its preparatory nature.
Therefore, an objective summary of the discussions
at the meeting by the Chairman might be more conducive to
the smooth proceeding and success of the
meeting.
Mr. Chairman,
Upon
conclusion, let me reaffirm to you that the Chinese
Delegation is ready to work together with other delegations
for the success of this meeting in a cooperative and
constructive spirit.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.