Mr. Chairman,
I would like to extend congratulations to you and the Implementation Support Unit for the efforts on the arrangement of the meeting of High Contracting Parties to the CCW.
Currently, armed conflicts occur frequently in different regions, and the abuse of conventional weapons further aggravates regional tensions and triggers serious humanitarian crises.Meanwhile, emerging technologies represented by artificial intelligence are booming, and the security challenges that their military applications pose to the international community have aroused widespread concern from all parties.
The Global Security Initiative Concept Paper issued by the Chinese government in February this year identifies supporting global conventional arms control process as one of the priorities. As a high contracting party to the CCW and its five protocols, China has always strictly fulfilled relevant international obligations, actively participated in the work under the framework of the CCW, submitted its national report in a timely manner, paid its assessed contribution to the Convention in time, and provided donations to the CCW Sponsorship Programmeto support developing countries to participate in related conferences and activities.
China has also actively carried out international cooperation on humanitarian demining and clearance of explosive remnants of war. So far, China has already provided humanitarian demining assistance worth more than 200 million RMB yuan to more than 40 countries, and trained more than 1,000 demining personnel. Not long ago, China held a deminingtraining course for trainees from Cambodia and Laos, and facilitated the 2nd ASEAN Regional High-Level meeting on Mine Action which was successfully held in Nanjing, China.
Mr. Chairman,
China advocates a people-centered approach as well as principles such asAI for good, emphasis on development and putting ethics first in developing AI. We are committed to ensuring that AI should always be developed in a way that benefits human civilization.Not long ago, China released the Global AI Governance Initiative, calling for all countries to enhance exchanges and cooperation, work together to prevent risks, and develop a AI governance framework based on broad consensus, so as to make AI technologies more secure, reliable, controllable, and equitable.
In recent years, the discussion of "Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems (LAWS)" has been increasingly intense. China has participated in the discussion of the GGE on LAWS under the framework of CCW in a constructive manner, and submitted position papers on strengthening regulation of military applications of AI and the ethical governance of AI. We welcome the positive progress of the work of the GGE, and support the negotiation of a legally binding instrument to prohibit fully autonomous weapons system when conditions are ripe and all parties could reach consensus on issues such as the definition and characteristics of LAWS. China believes that all states should develop and apply AI technology in the military field in a prudent and responsible manner. China supports tiered and categorized regulation to ensurethat relevant weapon systems must be under human control. In light of the dual-use nature of AI technology, while strengthening supervision and governance, we should ensure that all countries fully enjoy the right to peaceful use. China appreciates the Chairman’s efforts to facilitate the discussion on the mandate of the LAWS GGE next year, and looks forward to a mandate that is acceptable for all parties.
Mr. Chairman,
China advocates the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security, calls for balancing legitimate military security needs and humanitarian concerns, coordinating development and security, and finding a proper solution to security challenge brought by emerging technologies. We stand ready to continuously enhance the authority and vitality of CCW, and make unremitting efforts to build a world of lasting peace and universal security,in a bid to build a global community of shared future.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.