President,

Since it was opened for signature 29 years ago, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) has seen steady growth in universality, continued progress in preparatory work for implementation, and further consolidation of the international consensus on banning nuclear tests. At present, the international security environment is undergoing complex and profound changes, with geopolitical conflicts flaring up, the risk of nuclear war rising, and the international community facing new challenges. It is therefore imperative to enhance the vitality of the CTBT, accelerate its entry into force, and safeguard and strengthen the international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime.

President Xi Jinping has put forward the Global Security Initiative and the Global Governance Initiative, providing China's proposals for strengthening and improving global security governance. In this spirit, I would like to put forward the following points:

First, the international community should uphold the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, reject Cold War mentality and bloc confrontation, resolve geopolitical conflicts, fundamentally improve the international security environment, and eliminate the root causes of the existence and testing of nuclear weapons.

Second, all parties should work together to uphold the integrity of the international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime, and ensure the authority and effectiveness of legal instruments such as the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and the CTBT.

Third, the nuclear-weapon States should all honor their moratorium commitments on nuclear testing, effectively reduce the role of nuclear weapons in national security policies, and make clear commitments to no-first-use of nuclear weapons, as well as no use or threat of use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon States.

Fourth, the international community should advance in a comprehensive and balanced manner the preparatory work for CTBT implementation, including the development of the International Data Centre, the International Monitoring System, and the On-Site Inspection mechanism, and take concrete actions to create favorable conditions for the Treaty's early entry into force.

President,

China was among the first countries to sign the CTBT. We are firmly committed to its purposes and objectives, have always observed our moratorium commitment, and have actively supported the development of the International Monitoring System. China will continue to work with all parties to promote the Treaty's early entry into force, and to make unremitting efforts towards the lofty goal of a complete ban and the total elimination of nuclear weapons.

Thank you, President.