UNITED NATIONS — State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sept 26 called on the international community to champion the rule of law, take multi-front measures and enhance international cooperation in further efforts at global nuclear non-proliferation.
Speaking at a United Nations Security Council meeting on non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, Wang proposed that countries should abide by the rule of law to consolidate and improve the international non-proliferation regime.
“All of us should earnestly safeguard the universality, effectiveness, and authority of non-proliferation regime, and in particular prevent terrorists and other non-state actors from getting hold of weapons of mass destruction material and technologies,” said Wang.
The top Chinese diplomat said multi-front measures should be taken to implement the non-proliferation treaty in a balanced manner.
Wang called on countries to honor their words, shoulder their responsibilities and fulfill international obligations with no double standards, discriminatory arrangement or selective enforcement.
He added that countries need to bolster international cooperation and enhance their non-proliferation capability.
On the international deal brokered to restrict Iran’s nuclear program, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Wang said it is “a hard-won achievement of multilateralism conducive to international non-proliferation regime and peace and stability in the Middle East.”
Noting that no international agreement is perfect, Wang said what happened in the last three years showed that the JCPOA is a viable agreement.
“China encourages Iran to continue to fulfill all commitments it has made and at the same time the legitimate rights of all countries to normal economic relations and trade with Iran should be respected,” said Wang.
He called on the relevant parties to “bear in mind the big picture, proceed from a long-term perspective and safeguard the solemnity, integrity and efficacy of the JCPOA.”
On the Korean Peninsula issue, Wang pointed out that the situation has changed for the better, and China has made unremitting efforts to this end.
“We call upon all parties to seize the current opportunities, turn political consensus into concrete actions, and work in the direction of setting up a peace mechanism as well as denuclearization on the peninsula to realize lasting peace at an early date,” said Wang.
Wang said China has, as always, adhered to the principle of non-interference, and non-interference in other’s internal affairs is a tradition of China’s foreign policy, which has won widespread praise from the international community, Wang said.
“We did not, do not and will not interfere in the internal affairs of any country, and we don’t accept any unwarranted accusations made against China,” he said.
“We also urge other countries to follow the principles of the United Nations Charter, which forbids interference in any nation’s internal affairs,” he added.
