The appeal came as Hu Xiaodi, the Chinese ambassador on disarmament, took the floor at the First Committee of the 55th General Assembly session. The First Committee is in charge of disarmament and international security.

"Efforts must be made to overcome negative elements in order to ensure the right direction in nuclear disarmament," Hu said.

"This is essential to the realization of the goal to build a nuclear-weapon-free world at an early date."

In his speech, the Chinese ambassador outlined six principles and concrete measures in the field of nuclear disarmament:

First, the countries with the biggest nuclear arsenals should bear the special and primary responsibility in nuclear disarmament.They should continue their efforts aimed at shrinking their respective nuclear arsenal remarkably.

The country who deploys nuclear weapons overseas should withdraw such weapons back to its territories, and efforts must be made to do away with the policy and practice of "nuclear umbrella" and "the sharing of nuclear weapons," Hu said.

Secondly, all nuclear-weapon states should make clear-cut commitments that they will not be the first to use nuclear weapons under any circumstances, and that they will not use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon states or nuclear-weapon-free zones under any circumstances.

Nuclear-weapon states should start negotiations to conclude biding international legal documents in this regard, he said.

Thirdly, the strengthening of strategic stability is an essential condition for promoting nuclear disarmament.

"At present, the most important thing is to strictly abide by the ABM Treaty," he said.

The Chinese ambassador called for no development or deployment of any missile defense system which upsets the global strategic balance and destroys the world stability, no assistance to other countries in acquiring such a system, and non-proliferation of any sophisticated missile defense system and related technologies to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries and undermine their sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The international community needs to begin talks on relevant legal documents in order to comprehensively prevent the weaponalization of outer space, he said.

Fourth, the international community should take concerted efforts to urge those countries who remain out of the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) to enter into the treaty as soon as possible.

Fifth, nuclear-weapon states, on the basis of the commitment not to be the first to use nuclear weapons, should reach agreement through negotiations on "the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use of Nuclear Weapons."

Sixth, on the basis of safeguarding international strategic stability and under the guarantee that the security of each country should not be weakened, the international community should conclude through negotiations "the Convention on the Total Ban of Nuclear Weapons."

"China is determined to spare no efforts to promote the above-mentioned principles and measures," and the Chinese delegation will support all ideas and proposals which are conducive to the realization of a nuclear-weapon-free world as soon as possible, he added.

(Xinhua 10/17/2000)