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Statement by H.E. Li Baodong Vice Foreign Minister of China At the Vilnius Sherpa Meeting of the Nuclear Security Summit 2016

2015-07-02 16:43

The Vilnius, Lithuania 30 June 2015

Madam Chair, Dear Colleagues,

First of all, on behalf of the Chinese delegation, please allow me to express heartfelt thanks to the host state Lithuania for its thoughtful arrangements.

Since 2010, thanks to the joint efforts of all participating states, the Nuclear Security Summit process has yielded fruitful results. International consensus on nuclear security is growing, and global nuclear security capability has been strengthened remarkably. Meanwhile, enhancing nuclear security remains an important task in the course of nuclear energy development of all nations, and therefore needs continuous and sustainable global efforts in this regard. In this context,the Nuclear Security Summit 2016 will be of great significance.

Madam Chair,

China is happy to see that, after the first two Sherpa Meetings and the consultations by the drafting groups, the preparatory work of this summit has made a lot of progress. I would like to make the following points on our future work:

First, we should focus on the theme and make overall plans for the summit. With the vision of shaping an international nuclear security architecture featuring emphasize the primary responsibilities of all states, enhance international cooperation, give full play to the core role of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and bring the global nuclear security process onto the track of sustainable and institutionalized development.

Second, we should seek common ground while reserving differences, and highlight our consensus. We should give full consideration to the different national conditions and reasonable appeals of the developing countries, and ensure the voluntary nature of the five Action Plans that will be endorsed by our leaders at the Summit. As for the complicated and sensitive issues on which we still have different views, they should be discussed at other forums.

Third, we should make meticulous and thoughtful arrangements for the summit. The summit provides a rare and precious chance for our leaders to discuss international nuclear security issues. We welcome the announcement of the time and venue of the Summit, and hope the United States will put forward proposals on the agenda of the summit at an early date. As for the "Scenario-Based Policy Discussion",we hope the U.S. could take political sensitivity into account when designing the scenario, and consider the comfort level of all leaders when it comes to the format and proceedings.

Guided by the nuclear security approach initiated by President Xi Jinping, China will continue to take an active part in international nuclear security affairs, and work with all parties to ensure the success of the Summit.

Madam Chair,

Regarding the United Nations action plan under discussion, China supports the United Nations to continuously play an important role in strengthening global nuclear security. The current draft in general reflects the main work of United Nations in this sphere, and could serve as a good basis for discussion.

Meanwhile, we are of the view that this action plan should be conductive to enhancing the effectiveness and universality of International Convention of Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism, promoting full implementation of the Security Council Resolution 1540, and should avoid creating new obligations for participating states. As for the specific actions included therewithin, full consideration should be given to different conditions of each nation with due respect to its sovereignty.

Thank you.

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