Since this is the first time that I have asked for the floor during your presidency, allow me to begin by expressing the appreciation of the Chinese delegation for your unrelenting efforts to facilitate the early start of substantive work of the CD. I would also like to extend our gratitude to your predecessor, Ambassador Draganov, for the valuable endeavor he has made to help overcome the difficulties within this organization. Furthermore, I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to our Secretary-General Mr. Petrovsky, our new Deputy Secretary-General Mr. Roman-Morey and the staff of the CD Secretariat whose hard work and good service deserve high appreciation from all of us. At the midnight striking of the bell on New Year's Eve, mankind has entered the 21st century. The past century has experienced unprecedented social, cultural and economic development worldwide. It has also however, witnessed the untold sufferings of mankind in countless wars and conflicts. Reflecting on the past in the light of the present, mankind cannot aspire more for building and preserving lasting peace, common security and universal development in the 21st century. We firmly believe that only through mutual understanding, accommodation, respect, coordination and cooperation can all countries in the world join hands to maintain peace and security and achieve development and prosperity. The old security concept based on military alliances and buildup of armaments aimed at seeking absolute security for one country at the expense of other countries' interests should be discarded. The 21st century needs a new security concept. The core of such a concept should be mutual respect, mutual benefit, equality, cooperation and resolving disputes through dialogue.

Mr. President,

The Chinese government has all along pursued an independent foreign policy on peace. It attaches importance to and actively participates in, ongoing efforts of the international community to promote just and rational arms control and disarmament. In the new century, China will stick to its set of principles, positions and proposals such as preserving strategic security stability, promoting nuclear disarmament and preventing the weaponization of and an arms race in outer space. It will continue to honor its international commitments. China is ready to make greater efforts to safeguard enduring peace and common security of all countries in the world.

Mr. President,

Nuclear weapons were invented by mankind in the 20th century. We believe that they can also be eliminated by mankind in the 21st century. The final document adopted by the 2000 NPT Review Conference bears great importance and significance in guiding and promoting the non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament process. We believe that progress in nuclear disarmament hinges on preserving global strategic balance and stability as well as on insuring undiminished security for all countries. Countries with the largest nuclear arsenals should continue to reduce their respective nuclear arsenals both dramatically and irreversibly. As a nuclear weapon state, China never evades its responsibilities and obligations regarding nuclear disarmament. In fact, China has made unique contributions to the international nuclear disarmament course through its sound nuclear weapon policies as well as its positions and proposals on nuclear disarmament. The Chinese government has always stood for the complete prohibition and destruction of all nuclear weapons. In 1994, the Chinese Vice-Premier and then Foreign Minister Mr. Qian Qichen proposed at the UN general assembly that the international community should negotiate and conclude a treaty banning nuclear weapons. We hope that a treaty will be concluded at an early date in the new century. China has actively participated in any negotiation of the (CTBT) and was among the first batch of countries to sign a treaty. The Chinese government has already submitted a treaty to China's National People's Congress for ratification. We continue to urge that all nuclear weapon states undertake not to be the first to use nuclear weapons at any time and under any circumstances and that they unconditionally commit themselves never to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapon states. These should be codified into solemn international legal instruments. At the same time nuclear weapon states should also withdraw their nuclear weapons to their own territories and forego the policies and practice of nuclear sharing a nuclear umbrella. They should preserve the ABM Treaty and check the trend of weaponization of outer space as the most urgent and imperative task of today. It is also indispensable for the followup steps that are specified in the 2000 document of the NPT Review Conference to proceed on how to deal with nuclear disarmament in the CD. The Chinese delegation is in favor of the proposal put forth by the Group of 21 in C D/1570 and CD/1571. China also supports the early negotiation and conclusion of FMCT on the premise that the global strategic stability is maintained and a nuclear disarmament process is further pursued.

Mr. President,

The ABM Treaty is the cornerstone of preserving global strategic stability. Its significance is far beyond the scope of US-Russia bilateral relationship and has a direct bearing on the security of all countries. The ABM treaty should be strictly observed. Any attempt to undermine the integrity and effectiveness of the treaty by whatever excuses will bring far reaching negative consequences to international peace and security. The general assembly has for two consecutive years overwhelmingly adopted the resolution on the preservation of and compliance with the ABM Treaty. This demonstrates the will and determination of the international community to maintain global strategic balance and stability and its clear position against the development and deployment of national missile defense systems. It is a common aspiration of mankind to use outer space, the heritage of all peoples, for peaceful purposes. However the missile defense systems currently under development, pose a serious danger of outer space weaponization, which might trigger off a new arms race. We're seriously concerned about the report of a space war exercise, which took place late last month. The exercise uses the outer space as a battlefield and the scenario was set to happen in 2017.

Anti-satellite weapons, strategic missile defense systems and land-based laser weapons were envisaged in the exercise to attack targets in space and space weapons to launch preventive strikes. This has irrefutably demonstrated that weaponization of outer space is imminent. Therefore, it has become a top priority task for the international community to take evasive measures to prevent the weaponization of and arms race in outer space. China urges all countries, those with great space capabilities in particular, to strictly abide by all relevant international conventions and arms race and disarmament agreements including bilateral ones concerning other states. It is urgent for each and every country concerned, to stop all the activities that contravene the principles of peaceful use of outer space. What is of particular importance, the CD in Geneva should immediately reestablish an Ad hoc committee under the agenda item of prevention of an arms race in outer space, to negotiate and conclude an international legal instruments preventing the weaponization of and an arms race in outer space as urged by the relevant UN resolutions with a view to remedying the deficiencies in the existing international regime. We are deeply worried over the fact that in recent years the very country conducting the abovementioned space war exercise and weaponizing outer space has single handedly obstructed the PAROS negotiations in the CD by denying the risk of the weaponization of and an arms race in outer space. By doing so, it will only make all countries suffer, undermining the interest of others without benefiting itself.

Mr. President,

Since the end of the Cold War the international community has made a consistent effort to prevent the production of weapons of mass destruction and the means of delivery. Facts have shown that to promote the non-proliferation process within a framework of collective security and to conduct consultation, dialogue and cooperation on an equal footing have proven to be the correct and effective way to address the problem of proliferation of WMD and their means of delivery. On the other hand, it is totally unacceptable to create any unilateral or small group regimes offsetting global resistance or to impose in the name of non-proliferation, unjustified economic or other types of sanctions on other countries. This can only undermine the object of non-proliferation. Nonproliferation is aimed at enhancing the equality of security of all countries. It must not be used as a tool for stronger or larger countries, to control weaker or smaller ones. Nor should it become an instrument for a handful of countries to obstruct the building of national defense of most countries in order to enhance and form its own advantages in a search of domination. The practice of playing double standards should not be allowed in non-proliferation. A certain country vigorously promoting negotiations of nonproliferation to guard against other countries and is far more concerned about the nonproliferation measures of other countries than about its own. This in time willfully acts regarding the existing arms control and disarmament agreements, making disguised reservations to legislation, rejecting eradication or even threatening to withdraw. Such action will severely undermine the confidence of the international community and arms control and non-proliferation efforts. Needless to say, introducing weapons and military means into outer space or other new sphere and seeking ones own absolute security and superiority at the expense of all others, will certainly destroy all international nonproliferation efforts.

Mr. President,

Three months ago, someone alleged that the impasse in the CD should be attributed to China. Holding sessions hostage or creating linkages is a distortion of facts. Today, it is all the more evident to everyone that a threat to strategic stability and the introduction of weapons and an arms race into outer space constitutes the root cause for the stalemate in the CD during the recent two years. It is simply logic that every agenda item addressed by the CD is closely related to security and that all aspects of security are inseparable. Therefore each agenda item cannot but be inherently linked to other items. The priorities of all parties should be equally valued. Negotiations can never be conducted for the benefit of one party while undermining the interests of others. We sincerely hope that a relevant delegation will take into consideration not only its own concerns but also the concerns of other countries. Nuclear disarmament is not only a mirror reflecting international security situation but also a means of promoting international arms control and disarmament. We should not negotiate for negotiations sake and what's more, we must never only offer lip service without negotiation. The CD is duty bound to eliminate or reduce the threat to peace and security by conducting serious negotiations to solve the serious problems facing the international community and through arms control and disarmament. Undoubtedly, international arms control and disarmament efforts are currently at a crossroad. The most outstanding calls for preventing the attempt to overthrow the ABM Treaty and weaponize outer space. Under such circumstances to formulate a comprehensive and fairest program of work and start negotiations on such issues as PAROS, nuclear disarmament, FMCT and negative security assurances, is not only the obligation of the CD, but also the only possible way to break the current stalemate and achieve progress. The Chinese delegation supports the Amorim proposal as a basis for further consultation and is ready to make further efforts to reach a comprehensive and balanced approach to reach a program of work.

Thank you Mr. President.