China has reiterated opposition to the proliferation of weapons of
mass destruction (WMD) at the first review conference of Chemical
Weapons Convention being held in the Hague, Netherlands.
Addressing the conference Monday, China's Permanent Representative
to the Organization for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Zhu Zushou said as a victim
of chemical weapons in the past, China has always stood for the
objectives of the Convention and opposed the proliferation of
weapons of mass destruction including chemical weapons.
"Attaching great importance to implementing the Convention, the
Chinese government has all along been strictly and earnestly
fulfilling its obligations," Zhu said.
He
reiterated that China is against all forms of terrorism and has
tried its best to implement the Convention in full through both
administrative and legislative measures.
He
also urged more and better cooperation between countries.
"In recent years, the threat of terrorism has been mounting.
Non-traditional security issues are intertwined with more
traditional security issues on the international arena. Individual
countries are faced with multiplying security challenges, and are
thus becoming increasingly interdependent on each other," he
said.
On
the issue of the chemical weapons abandoned by Japan in China, Zhu
urged Japan to comply with the Convention provisions and start
their destruction as soon as possible.
The Chinese government would like to provide necessary and adequate
assistance in this regard, he added.
The OPCW, founded in May 1997, has now 151 member states. It holds
a review conference every five years to check the previous
implementation work and work out more effective implementation
measures for the future.
The on-going 12-day review conference drew more than 800
participants from 116 member states.
(People's Daily April 29, 2003)