Mr.President,

Thank you for convening this plenary meeting. I would also like to thank our Bulgarian colleague for his presentation. Regrettably, I have just listened carefully to the joint statement delivered by the U.S. delegation. In response, I wish to state China’s position clearly.

First, China firmly opposes the politicization and abuse of the Conference on Disarmament. The CD is not an appropriate venue for discussing the so-called “Notifications of Ballistic Missile Launches”. For its own narrow political purposes, the U.S. has coerced a group of countries, including non-CD member states, into issuing such a joint statement caviling at China’s voluntary pre-launch notifications. Such an approach of “megaphone diplomacy” is a typical act of political manipulation and blatant double standards, gravely undermining the working atmosphere of the Conference on Disarmament. China rejects this outright and firmly opposes such practice.

Second, the groundless accusations by the U.S. have no legal basis or valid justification. The U.S. demands that other countries provide standard advance notifications according to the Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation (“HCOC”), which is completely unreasonable. The HCOC is a political commitment voluntarily subscribed to by relevant countries, rather than a universally joined mechanism. China, as a non-member of the HCOC, is not bound by it.

China conducts ICBM tests in a consistently safe, professional and responsible manner. Prior to China’s test launch in July this year, China provided pre-launch notifications to other nuclear-weapon states, including the U.S., Russia, the U.K., and France, as well as Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand and other Pacific island countries around the missile impact area. China’s Maritime Safety Administration and Civil Aviation Administration had issued navigational and space warnings containing precise coordinates of the impact area 24 hours in advance. China conducted the test launch within the announced window of time, and the missile fell into the high seas as planned. There was no aviation or maritime navigation safety incident, or pollution or damage to the maritime environment. These measures were professional, safe and standard, consistent with international law and international customary practices. They demonstrated China’s constructive and transparent approach and were conducive to enhancing mutual trust and reducing misunderstandings and miscalculations. China undertook these prudent and reasonable measures to ensure that the test did not harm the interests of any country, which fully demonstrated China’s goodwill. Regrettably, certain countries have failed to treat China’s act of good-faith in the right spirit and instead engaged in malicious hype. China’s act of good-faith must not be held hostage by narrow geopolitical calculations.

Thirdly, the U.S. is in no position to make irresponsible remarks on China. To date, China has conducted only three ICBM launch tests, fewer than any of the other nuclear-weapon States. In contrast, the U.S. has carried out the largest number and most frequent ICBM test launches in the world. The U.S. has conducted over 300 ICBM test launches and about 200 SLBM test launches, and most of its ICBM test launches have taken place in the Pacific Ocean. I would ask the representative of the U.S. whether all of the hundreds of launch tests mentioned above abide by the so-called standard raised by the U.S.?

In fact, in contrast to China’s notifications, the U.S. has not provided China with advance notifications in recent years, except on only one occasion when it provided a notification to China in November 2024 as a so-called “reciprocal move” in response to China’s pre-launch notification of its own launch earlier that year. While the U.S. did not provide the pre-launch notification to China, in what position is it to criticize China’s gesture of goodwill?

The U.S., as a member of the HCOC, has been claiming transparency regarding its missile activities and commitment to confidence-building measures. However, the HCOC official website does not provide the world with any records of notifications, nor does it confirm its claim of practicing a 24-hour pre-launch notification. The U.S. has no right to demand that China, a non-party to the Code of Conduct, comply with its so-called standard practices.

Finally, China would like to emphasize that China is the only one among the five nuclear-weapon States that undertakes not to be the first to use nuclear weapons, and not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon States or nuclear-weapon-free zones. China has signed and ratified the Additional Protocols to the South Pacific Nuclear-Free Zone Treaty, assuming legal obligations not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against its States Parties and not to conduct nuclear tests in the zone. China is committed to the path of peaceful development and pursues a nuclear strategy of self-defense. China maintains its nuclear forces at the minimum level required for national security and does not engage in any form of nuclear arms race. China’s nuclear forces play a positive role in deterring nuclear wars and maintaining global peace and strategic stability. China will not accept any groundless accusations by a small number of countries with ulterior motives against our legitimate national defense modernization.

Mr. President,

As Confucius observed, “The noble-minded are open-minded and magnanimous; the petty-minded are always full of anxiety and distress.” If the U.S. truly cares about international and regional peace and stability, it should not insist on strengthening its nuclear monopoly edge and pouring massive resources into the development of its nuclear forces. It should not repeatedly “withdraw from treaties and groups”, allow the NEW START Treaty to expire, and refuse to ratify the Additional Protocols to the South Pacific Nuclear-Free Zone Treaty. It should not stubbornly cling to its first-use nuclear policy and build a “nuclear alliance” through arrangements such as “nuclear sharing” and “extended deterrence”. China calls on the U.S. to engage in self-reflection and do more things that genuinely contribute to world peace and stability.

To further clarify China’s position, China will circulate a Non-paper: China Conducts ICBM Tests in a Consistently Safe, Professional and Responsible Manner, as well as a Fact Sheet: The ICBM Test Launches and Notifications of the U.S., the U.K., and France. We hope these documents will help all colleagues distinguish right from wrong.

Thank you, Mr. President.