🇨🇳 China urges public nuclear pledge

China’s disarmament ambassador Li Chijiang told the UN General Assembly’s First Committee on Friday that all nuclear-weapon states should publicly commit to not seeking permanent possession of nuclear arms. In remarks delivered at the UN nuclear debate, he also called for joint action on rising nuclear risks and warned of growing concern over arms racing and nuclear war.

Li said Cold War thinking, double standards, and unilateralism are the main drivers of deterioration in the international security environment. He called for preserving the existing arms control treaty system, defending the authority of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, and requiring states with the largest arsenals to take special priority responsibility for substantial further cuts.

He also urged vigilance toward some non-nuclear states accumulating plutonium without credible civilian use, seeking changes to the “Three Non-Nuclear Principles,” and openly advocating independent nuclear armament.

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