According to a report on CGTN (China Global Television Network), Fu Ying, a veteran diplomat and now chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) “reiterated on Saturday China’s commitment to the principle of non-first-use of nuclear weapons, expressing concerns about the dangers of nuclear development at present.
“China maintains a very small nuclear arsenal, and China follows the policy of self-defense and minimum deterrence,” she said.
“She made the remarks during a panel discussion about nuclear security at the Munich Security Conference (MSC).
“China is also committed to the principle of non-first-use of nuclear weapons, and under no circumstances will China use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon states or nuclear-weapon-free zones, she added.”
This is in sharp contrast with the headlines about the President of the US, such as “New bill aims to ban Donald Trump from first use of nuclear weapons without Congressional Declaration of War”. ‘It is a frightening reality that the US now has a Commander-in-Chief who was making sweeping statements about US nuclear policy over Twitter’: The independent
Ms Fu Yong also referred to the situation with North Korea stating that sanctions are necessary but not enough and calling for peace talks, echoing the words of the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres who also spoke at the Munich Security Conference warming that the world faces the threat of a nuclear conflict for the first time since the end of the Cold War because of events surrounding the DPRK’s nuclear ambitions. He urged policymakers “not to miss the opportunity of a peaceful resolution”.
