Foreign and Military Affairs

China,Russia pledge stronger co-op on arms control

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-09-28 20:24

BEIJING - China and Russia agreed to work more closely on international arms control, disarmament, prevention of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery vehicles.

China and Russia made the pledge in a joint statement released on Tuesday. The statement was signed by Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev after their talks in Beijing on Monday.

In the joint statement to comprehensively deepen their strategic partnership of coordination, China and Russia reaffirmed the goal of establishing a nuclear-free world.

To attain the goal, the two countries urged all countries to work together to push the process of arms control, disarmament, prevention of weapons of mass destruction proliferation, on the basis of ensuring each country's security, equality and impartibility.

Both countries underscored the importance of preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons, saying the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) remained the cornerstone of the international nuclear non-proliferation system.

The NPT, a treaty aiming to limit the spread of nuclear weapons, came into force in 1970.

In the statement, China and Russia welcomed the positive results of the 2010 NPT Review Conference, saying they will make concerted efforts to further the NPP's three goals of non-proliferation, disarmament and peaceful uses nuclear energy.

Both countries said an effective International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) guarantee system was critical for preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons and promoting peaceful utilization of nuclear energy.

Russia-US Treaty on Measures for Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms, signed in April in Czech's capital Prague, was an important step in implementing the NPT, the statement said.

Both countries called for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty to take effect at an early date.

China and Russia said the improved nuclear security would be crucial for seeking the sustainable development of nuclear power and economy, preventing nuclear terrorism and safeguarding international peace and security.

China and Russia valued the candid dialogues on anti-missile issues and advocated a balanced global strategy, and equality and security of all countries, the statement said.

Both countries reaffirmed their commitment to international efforts at the Geneva's Disarmament Conference, which aimed to prevent an arms race in outer space.

China and Russia said they would continue to communicate and cooperate on anti-missile and outer space issues.