The head of a Chinese delegation, speaking at a meeting of the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Thursday, called on the international community to strengthen global security governance, urging certain countries to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in their national security policies.
Sun Xiaobo, head of the Chinese delegation and director-general of the Department of Arms Control of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, made the statement at the meeting of the UNGA Disarmament and International Security Committee, or the First Committee of the 79th UNGA.
Sun pointed out that over the past few years, some certain countries have continuously enhanced the role of nuclear weapons in their national security policies, investing hundreds of billions of U.S. dollars to upgrade the "nuclear triad" and accelerating the modernization of their nuclear arsenals.
He said these countries have continued to strengthen military alliances, create various discriminatory small circles and promote NATO's extension into the Asia-Pacific region, which has seriously undermined the strategic stability in the region and around the world.
Certain nuclear-weapon states should abolish their arrangements of "nuclear sharing" and "extended deterrence" and withdraw all nuclear weapons deployed abroad to their own territories, Sun stressed, calling on non-nuclear-weapon states under the "nuclear umbrella" to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in their national security and collective security policies.
China urges the relevant countries to stop developing and deploying global anti-missile systems and stop deploying land-based intermediate-range missiles outside their borders or in close proximity to other nuclear-weapon states, he said.
Sun stressed that China has always maintained its nuclear forces at the minimum level required for national security, while not participating in any arm race, not providing "nuclear umbrella" for any other country, nor deploying nuclear weapons in other countries.
China will not use nuclear weapons to seek hegemony or to intimidate or bully non-nuclear-weapon states, he said, adding that any attempt to distort and smear China's nuclear policy will be futile.
Chinese official urges certain countries to reduce role of nuclear weapons
China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) will work with relevant departments and local authorities to take concrete steps to promote the implementation of the newly passed private sector promotion law, a landmark legislation concerning a vast economic force in the country, said an NDRC official.
China's top legislative body -the National People's Congress - passed the private sector promotion law on Wednesday, establishing a legal backing for the steady and healthy growth of the key sector, including more than 57 million private firms and over 100 million self-employed individuals.
This landmark law is China's first fundamental legislation dedicated to the private sector. It will bolster confidence among the vast community by improving the business environment, fostering innovation, and ensuring fair competition, according to NDRC, the country's top economic planner.
"The private sector promotion law has actively responded to the key concerns in the development of the private sector. Efforts are made to establish and improve relevant systems and enhance the enforceability of the systems, from ensuring fair competition, improving investment and financing environment, supporting technology innovation, focusing on regulated operation, optimizing services and guarantees, and improving rights and interest protection, to strengthening legal accountability, so as to ensure that all forms of ownership can equally utilize production factors by the law, participate in market competition fairly, receive equal legal protection, further unleash their complementary advantages, and pursue common development," said Liu Min, deputy director of Private Sector Development Bureau under NDRC.
Liu added NDRC will continue to work together with relevant departments and local authorities to improve supporting systems and mechanisms and take concrete steps to promote the implementation of the private sector promotion law.
"We will make continuous and increasing efforts to remove barriers to market access and to fair competition, to address the issue of overdue payments to private enterprises, to protect the lawful rights and interests of private businesses and entrepreneurs by the law, to implement various relief policies, to help private enterprises shoulder their responsibilities of the era, so as to help translate legal systems into concrete actions and tangible outcomes that promote the high-quality development of the private sector," said Liu.
Concrete steps to take for firmly implementing China's landmark private sector promotion law: official
