Statement of Ambassador Hu Xiaodi,
Ambassador for Disarmament Affairs of China
30/8/01

Mr. President,

At the outset, please allow me to express the appreciation of the Chinese delegation for your unremitting efforts in facilitating the early start of CD's substantive work. I would also like to extend our gratitude to your distinguished predecessors, H.E. Camilo Reyes and H.E. Carlos Amat Fores, for the valuable endeavors they have made to help overcome the difficulty facing this forum. Furthermore, I would take this opportunity to pay tribute to our Secretary-General, Mr. Petrovsky, the Deputy SecretaryGeneral. Mr. Roman-Morey, and all other colleagues of the CD secretariat, whose diligence and valuable service deserve high appreciation from all of US.

Mr. President,

The Chinese delegation has pointed out here in CD as well as at other multilateral fora, that the global arms control and disarmament efforts have come to a critical cross-road and that "where to go" has become a major concern for the international community.

It is witnessed that a series of major issues of the international community, including the nuclear weapon reduction process, CTBT and the negotiation of a BWC protocol, have met with undeserved challenges. Weapons and weapon systems are to be introduced into outer space. Last year, the whole international community, including the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, recognized the ABM Treaty as a corner stone of global strategic stability. This year, however, we hear the advocacy for the total abrogation of this Treaty. All these cannot but generate profound negative impact on the international security of the 21st century and jeopardize the interest of all Sates in the world. it is therefore our arduous task to preserve the international strategic stability and ensure the integrity and effective implementation of the existing international treaties.

Faced with the severe situation, the Chinese delegation takes it necessary to present our guiding principles and basic positions related to the issues of international peace and security, including arms control and disarmament.

At the inception of the 21st century, the world needs peace, the peoples want cooperation, the nations aspire for development and societies seek progress. This is the trend of our times. However, the world multipolarization and economic globalization cannot but undergo a long process, which is not free from twists and turns. Up to now, neither of the two major questions of today's world, i.e., peace and development, has been resolved. The world we live in is still far from tranquil.

The purposes of China's foreign policy are to safeguard world peace and promote common development. We have all along maintained that countries should abide by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and the universally recognized basic norms governing international relations. The cold war mentality featured by power politics should be abandoned. The affairs of a country should be decided by the government and people of that country and the matters in the world be handled by the governments and peoples of all countries through consultations on the basis of equality, and solved through multilateral collective efforts. Unilateralism will come to no avail, since it cannot be productive to world peace and development, nor helpful in resolving the issues facing us. Each State has the right to take measure to ensure its own security interests, but none should do it at the expense of the security of other States. In the final analysis, only the universal security of all countries constitutes the genuine security.

China adheres to an independent foreign policy of peace. It has carried out friendly exchanges and mutually beneficial cooperation with all countries and treated one another as equals on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. In the new century, the Chinese people and their governmnent stand ready to join hands with all countries and peoples who love peace and crave for development and progress so as to secure an international environment of lasting peace, in a common endeavor to push forward the wheel of history toward the magnificent goal of the development of mankind.

Mr. President.

The following measures are of utmost importance for arms control and disarmament, namely, preserve the global strategic stability, uphold the treaty regimes which have already come into being in the areas of arms control and disarmament, never introduce weapons or weapon systems into outer space, promote the course of the complete prohibition and thorough destruction of WMD while preventing the proliferation of WMD and their means of delivery. Indispensable for global lasting peace and security, these measures will ensure the security interests of all States without exception.

The ABM Treaty is a cornerstone of strategic stability and the foundation for ensuring the reduction of offensive strategic weapons. The international community should urge the parties concerned to honor the integrity and effectiveness of that treaty, and advocate under the premise of upholding and abiding by the ABM Treaty to further reduce offensive strategic weapons. On the issue of missile non-proliferation, we hold that the international community should further explore the possibility of establishing a global regime for the prevention of missile proliferation on the basis of equality and non-discrimination and with the participation of all States.

Mr. President.

Our world is rich and colorful. The diversity of civilizations is the basic feature of human society and also the driving force behind the progress of human civilization. Respect should be given to the history, culture, social system and mode of development of each individual country. Diversity of the world is a reality that should be recognized. On the one hand, the international community needs to set up a new security concept of multilateral cooperation and collective security, and work together to create a peaceful international environment of long-term stability and security, with a view to promoting multi-polarization of the world. Meanwhile, countries should step up their economic and technical exchanges and cooperation and gradually transform the inequitable and irrational international economic order so that all will win and coexist as a result of economic globalization.

Regional security and stability will help realize global peace and development. On June 16 this year, the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan,, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and China declared the establishment of the "Shanghai Cooperative Organization". With the security cooperation as its starting point, this organization promotes across-theboard cooperation, covering also the fields of economy, trade, culture, and the consultation and coordination in dealing with international and regional affairs. It features non-alliance, non-confrontation and not targeting at any other countries or regional organizations, as well as being open in nature. Its underlying guidelines are mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for the diversity of civilizations and seeking common development. Based on all these, a series of new concepts have taken form and develop: a new security concept with mutual trust, disarmament and cooperative security as its key content; a new type of international relationship which features partnership and non-alliance; a new model of regional cooperation in which all countries, big or small, jointly take the initiation and promote mutual benefit and coordination. We believe that, bearing the hope' of all the peoples in this region, this Organization will have a bright future.

Mr. President,

Given the present difficult situation in the field of arms control and disarmament, what in need are perseverance, solidarity and unrelenting efforts. Only by doing so, can we reverse the countercurrent and bring arms control and disarmament back to their correct course. The Chinese delegation will join forces with all other sides in the common endeavor.

In our Conference on Disarmament, the urgent priority is taking resolute measures to prevent the weaponization of and an arms race in outer space. To this end, an international legal instrument should be concluded as soon as possible. Our delegation requests that CD commence multilateral negotiations on this issue, establish an ad hoc committee with a negotiating mandate. We support the proposal put forward by the delegation of the Russia Federation (as contained in CD/1644), and call for the re-start of CD's substantive work, including dealing with the issue of nuclear disarmament and the commencement of FMCT negotiations, in accordance with the principle that the concerns of all sides ought to be addressed in a comprehensive and balanced manner. The Chinese delegation also supports the work of the three Special Coordinators and will take part in the proceedings.

Thank you, Mr. President.