Washington accusations condemned by Beijing

The United States has resorted to fabricating accusations and smearing other countries to evade its international arms control obligations, a move that "severely damages its own international credibility", the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

Recently, US Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Thomas DiNanno accused China of having conducted nuclear explosive tests, and said the US would resume nuclear tests on an "equal basis".

In response, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning stated, "The US side's allegations are unfounded, evasive, and utterly unjustifiable."

China urges the US to honor its commitment to the suspension of nuclear tests, uphold the international consensus on banning nuclear tests, and stop seeking excuses for resuming nuclear tests, she told reporters at a daily news briefing in Beijing.

China has repeatedly reaffirmed its unwavering support for the purposes and objectives of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and has consistently honored the commitment of the five nuclear-weapon states to suspending nuclear tests, the spokeswoman said.

Earlier this month, DiNanno told a disarmament forum in Geneva that China has conducted nuclear explosive tests — including one on June 22, 2020 — with yields "in the hundreds of tons".

DiNanno also called on China to join multilateral talks on nuclear arms control and strategic stability.

In a response on Feb 11, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said Washington is the biggest disruptor of the international nuclear order and global strategic stability.

In the area of arms control, the US has allowed the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty to expire, a move that has seriously eroded trust among major countries and dealt a severe blow to global strategic stability, he said.