President, 

I thank Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo, Professor Jeffrey Sachs, and Mr. Ray McGovern for their briefings. 

The Nord Stream gas pipelines are major transboundary infrastructure and energy transportation arteries. The sabotage of the pipeline in September last year had a major negative impact on the global energy market and the ecological environment. It also caused energy shortages for businesses and households in many European countries this winter. 

It is increasingly clear that what happened to Nord Stream pipelines was by no means an accident, but rather a deliberate act. From the perspective of physical conditions, it is hard to imagine that any non-state actor would be capable of carrying out such destruction alone. At an open meeting of the Council held last September, many countries called for an investigation into the incident to uncover the truth and identify those responsible. This is also China's position. China supports speeding up the investigation, so as to swiftly find out the truth. 

We live in an era of globalization, when cooperation among countries in energy, transportation, and communication is increasingly close, and transboundary construction spans across continents and oceans. Any deliberate sabotage of transboundary infrastructure is a malicious act. Failure to find out why it happened and who is behind the destruction will send a wrong signal to those with ill intentions and make them believe that they can get away with whatever they do. An objective, impartial, and professional investigation into this matter, releasing the findings and pursuing accountability as soon as possible are not only related to the incident itself, but also bear on the security of global transboundary infrastructure. Moreover, they are also closely related to the interests and concerns of every country. 

As the most authoritative and representative international organization, the UN can play an active role in conducting an international investigation and ensuring the security of transboundary infrastructure. China welcomes the draft resolution tabled by Russia in the Council, and believes that it is of great significance to authorize an international investigation into the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines. 

Recently, we have come across a lot of details and relevant information concerning the Nord Stream incident, which is alarming. Today, the briefers have also shared with us important information and their reasonable analysis. Faced with such detailed materials and comprehensive evidence, a simple statement of “utterly false and complete fiction” is obviously not enough to answer the many questions and concerns raised around the world. Finding a way to dodge today’s meeting does not mean that truth can be concealed. We expect convincing explanations from relevant parties. Such a request is entirely legitimate and reasonable. 

President, 

The Nord Stream incident reminds us that security threats in the modern world are increasingly interlinked, transboundary, and diversified. This calls for the establishment of a common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security concept, and concerted efforts to explore multiple channels and develop a holistic solution so as to meet various security challenges. Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed a Global Security Initiative, which provides a new direction and ideas for eliminating the root causes of conflicts, breaking security predicaments, and maintaining common security. The Global Security Initiative concept paper released by China today elaborates on the core concepts and principles of the Initiative, and provides an important path to the implementation of the Initiative, with 20 key cooperation areas which are action-oriented. We are willing to work with all parties to firmly support the core role of the UN in security governance, strive to promote coordination and sound interaction among major countries, actively support dialogue and peaceful resolution of hotspot issues, effectively respond to traditional and nontraditional security challenges, continuously strengthen the global security governance system and capacity building, in order to maintain peace and tranquility on the Earth, and create a better future for humankind. 

I thank you, President.