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Fu Cong, Head of Arms Control Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China
Photo: Ng Han Guan / AP
The five permanent members of the UN Security Council have jointly committed to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
One day after this declaration, China announced that it would continue to "modernize" its nuclear arsenal.
China will "continue to modernize its nuclear arsenal for reasons of reliability and security," said Fu Cong, head of the arms control department at the Chinese Foreign Ministry, to journalists in Beijing.
He also urged the United States and Russia to take the first step in reducing nuclear weapons stocks.
The US and Russia still held 90 percent of the world's nuclear warheads, Fu said.
"They must reduce their nuclear arsenal in an irreversible and legally binding manner," he demanded.
At the same time, he rejected allegations from Washington: "US claims that China is significantly expanding its nuclear capabilities are untrue," said Fu.
China is apparently arming faster than expected
Internationally, there are concerns about the modernization of the Chinese armed forces, especially after the army announced the development of a hypersonic missile at five times the speed of sound last year.
China is upgrading its nuclear arsenal faster than expected, according to a November report by the US Department of Defense.
According to this, China could have more than 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030.
China, Russia and the three Western UN veto powers, the USA, Great Britain and France, issued a joint declaration on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty on Monday, regardless of current diplomatic tensions.
In it they reaffirmed the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons and the avoidance of nuclear war.
"We deeply believe that further spread of such weapons must be prevented," the statement said.
"A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be waged." Such a joint declaration is rare.
It came before a conference to review the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which is due to take place this year and is coordinated by France.
asc / AFP
