China to continue ‘modernising’ its nukes after global pledge

China on Tuesday defended its nuclear weapons policy and said Russia and US should make the first move on disarmament….reports Asian Lite News

Beijing said it will continue to “modernise” its nuclear arsenal and called on the US and Russia to reduce their own stockpiles a day after five nuclear-weapon states including China pledged to prevent such weapons from spreading, media reported.

China on Tuesday defended its nuclear weapons policy and said Russia and US should make the first move on disarmament, it was reported.

On Monday, Chinese vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu on Monday said that China will continue to contribute its wisdom and proposals to global nuclear governance, and is ready to carry out cooperation with all peace-loving countries.

During an interview after the leaders of the five Nuclear-Weapon States issued a joint statement on preventing nuclear war and avoiding arms races, the vice Foreign Minister said that by issuing the joint statement, the five Nuclear-Weapon States stressed that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought and reiterated that none of the nuclear weapons are targeted at each other or at any other State, Xinhua News Agency reported.

This is the first time for leaders of the five Nuclear-Weapon States to issue such a joint statement, which has demonstrated the political will of the five states to prevent nuclear wars, and given their common voice of maintaining global strategic stability and reducing the risk of nuclear conflicts, he added.

Noting that the world is undergoing changes unseen in a century and the impact of COVID-19, Ma said the international strategic security field faces many major challenges.

The joint statement is conducive to enhancing mutual trust, said Ma, adding that replacing competition among major countries with coordination and cooperation is of positive significance to the building of major-country relations featuring overall stability and balanced development, Xinhua reported.

Last year, the US had expressed its concerns over China’s growing nuclear arsenal.

Secretary of State Antony J Blinken noted serious concerns over the rapid growth of the PRC’s nuclear arsenal which highlights how Beijing has sharply deviated from its decades-old nuclear strategy based on minimum deterrence. (with inputs from ANI)

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