China welcomes Geneva progress

Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Thursday that China welcomes an agreement reached between the United States and Russia to engage in a bilateral dialogue on strategic stability.

Zhao noted that as the countries with the largest nuclear arsenals, the US and Russia should earnestly undertake the special and primary responsibilities with regard to nuclear disarmament in accordance with the relevant documents of the United Nations and international consensus.

He said the two sides ought to further substantially and drastically reduce nuclear weapons in a verifiable, irreversible and legally binding manner, in a bid to foster conditions to ultimately achieve comprehensive and total nuclear disarmament.

“This is the most effective way to maintain global strategic stability and boost international peace and security,” he said.

The spokesman also noted that China observes that the heads of the US and Russia reaffirmed the principle that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.

China has always proactively called on the nuclear-weapon states, or NWS, to jointly reaffirm the principle to reduce the risks of nuclear wars and to safeguard global strategic stability, the spokesman said, adding that China has always actively supported efforts to promote international nuclear arms control.

“China stands ready to conduct exchanges with all parties on extensive issues concerning strategic stability under the frameworks of the NWS, the Conference on Disarmament, the First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly and so on,” he said.

“China is also willing to have bilateral dialogues with parties concerned on the basis of mutual respect and equality.”