Mr. Chairman,

At the outset, please allow me to congratulate you on your election to the chairmanship of this session of the UNGA First Committee. We are confident that you will surely guide this meeting to a success. The Chinese delegation would like to assure you and other delegations of its full cooperation.

Mr. Chairman,

At present, the international situation is undergoing profound and complicated changes. It is the common aspiration of peoples in all countries to maintain peace and promote development. However, in the current world, there still exist many disharmonious and unstable factors. Traditional and non-traditional security threats are still challenging. The ghost of cold war mentality is still haunting around. Despite the great hopes cherished by all countries for the international arms control and non-proliferation process, divergent views regarding priorities of its agenda still remain.

With further development of globalization, countries share common interests and rely on each other as far as security is concerned. No country can achieve security on its own. To effectively address various security challenges and to enhance common security, all countries must pursue a new security concept featuring mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality and coordination, adhere to multilateralism, preserve and strengthen the international arms control and non-proliferation legal system and enhance international cooperation.

Mr. Chairman,

China is firmly dedicated to peaceful development and pursues a national defence policy which is purely defensive in nature. China has always actively participated in international arms control and non-proliferation efforts, and made unremitting efforts in promoting resolution of international and regional security issues, in which China has been advocating and earnestly practicing the new security concept featuring mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality and coordination.

China attaches importance to military transparency and actively promotes mutual trust in the field of security among countries. Recently, the Chinese Government has decided to report annually, starting from this year, to the Secretary-General of the United Nations its military expenditures for the latest fiscal year, and resume providing the Secretary-General annually with the requested data for the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms. These steps further demonstrate that China supports the important role played by the United Nations in promoting transparency in armaments and mutual trust in the field of security among countries.

China has always pursued a responsible and transparent nuclear policy. China always stands for the complete prohibition and thorough destruction of nuclear weapons, and has honored its commitment regarding no-first-use of nuclear weapons and its unconditional undertaking not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapon states or nuclear-weapon-free zones. China's defensive national defence policy and its self-defence nuclear strategy determine that China's very limited nuclear arsenal is purely for the purpose of self-defence. China's nuclear policy has never changed. Nor will it change in the future.

China has never evaded its due responsibilities in nuclear disarmament and is actively dedicated to promoting international nuclear disarmament process. The Chinese Government honors its commitment on nuclear test moratorium, and has been promoting careful review by the National People's Congress of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, with a view to ratifying the Treaty at an early date. China supports the early start of the negotiation on Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva on the basis of a program of work acceptable to all. China also attaches importance to the new round of review process of the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), and is ready to work with other parties to promote positive achievement of the 2010 NPT Review Conference.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the entry into force of the Outer Space Treaty. It is the common task of the international community to ensure the peaceful use of outer space and prevent arms race therein. China has always stood for peaceful use of outer space, and is firmly opposed to weaponization of outer space. China has been actively appealing the international community to negotiate and conclude a new international legal instrument in this regard. China hopes that substantial work on this issue will be launched at the Conference on Disarmament as soon as possible.

Mr. Chairman,

Fundamentally speaking, non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) serves the common interests of all countries.

China maintains that a comprehensive approach should be adopted in addressing both the symptoms and root causes of proliferation of WMD. This requires not only commitment to continuously improving the international security environment, but also earnestly preserving and enhancing universality and effectiveness of the international non-proliferation regime, as well as abandoning double standards. It is of equal importance to stick to the approach of resolving disputes on non-proliferation issues through dialogues and negotiation. Any non-proliferation effort should be conducive to safeguarding international and regional peace and stability. The relationship between non-proliferation and the rights to peaceful uses of science and technologies should be properly handled in order to ensure the rights of peaceful use while effectively preventing any proliferation activity.

China has been dedicated to realizing denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and maintaining peace and stability in the Peninsula and Northeast Asia. At the end of September, the Second Session of the Sixth Round of the Six-Party Talks was held in Beijing. With the joint efforts of all parties concerned, the important document Second-Phase Actions for the Implementation of the Joint Statement was adopted, which marks a new step forward of the Six-Party Talks and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. China will continue to closely coordinate and cooperate with other parties concerned in implementing the relevant agreements in a comprehensive and balanced manner, with a view to constantly advancing the Six-Party Talks.

China always stands for a peaceful resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue through political and diplomatic means, and has been actively participating in relevant diplomatic efforts. China welcomes the Understandings on the Modalities of Resolution of the Outstanding Issues reached between Iran and the IAEA, and hopes that substantive progress can be achieved at an early date. China also hopes that all parties concerned can further show flexibility, exercise patience and stick to the course of peaceful resolution in seeking a comprehensive, long-term and appropriate solution to the Iranian nuclear issue. China will continue to play a constructive role in this regard.

Mr. Chairman,

This year also marks the 10th anniversary of the entry into force of the Chemical Weapons Convention. Over the past decade, the universality of the Convention has been greatly enhanced and its implementation has been smooth and successful on the whole. The Convention has played an important role in the destruction of chemical weapons and prevention of their proliferation. China has faithfully honoured its obligations under the Convention and has made due contributions to its smooth implementation. China calls on all parties to make greater efforts in fully implementing the Convention.

China attaches great importance to the humanitarian concerns caused by landmines, cluster munitions, small arms and light weapons (SALW). China supports effective measures to properly resolve relevant issues within the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons and the UN Programme of Actions on SALW. China welcomes reports of the Group of Governmental Experts on Illicit Brokering in SALW and the Panel of Governmental Experts on Verification. The two reports will contribute to promoting the multilateral arms control efforts in relevant fields.

Mr. Chairman,

Peace, development and cooperation have become the trend of the current times. As the biggest developing country, China is more and more closely connected with other countries. The common interests shared by China and other countries are constantly enhanced. China needs a peaceful and stable international environment for its development. At the same time, China's development will further promote international peace and security. China is ready to work with all other countries to firmly promote the multilateral arms control and non-proliferation process in an effort to build a harmonious world of enduring peace and common prosperity.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.