Delegation members from the UN Security Council's five permanent members (from left) Philip Barton of the UK, Andrea Thompson of the U.S., Fu Cong of China, Nicolas Roche of France and Oleg Rozhkov of Russia pose for a photograph during their meeting in Beijing, January 30, 2019. /Foreign Ministry photo
The five nuclear powers – China, the U.S., Russia, the UK, and France – reached " important consensuses" in addressing global challenges during a two-day meeting in Beijing that ended Thursday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a news briefing.
The five permanent members of the UN Security Council, known as the P5, are the legal nuclear weapon states recognized by the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), and their special mission to uphold global security and stability was reaffirmed during the conference.
Three crucial consensuses have been achieved, according to Geng, as a result of the in-depth exchange of views on issues related to nuclear policies and strategies, nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation.
Firstly, the five nuclear powers are committed to safeguarding world peace and security. Recognizing the severe challenges to international security, the five countries have expressed readiness to enhance coordination, manage differences and jointly deal with threats to global security.
Secondly, the five are determined to jointly uphold and implement the NPT, a cornerstone of the international nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament regime and an essential part of the post-war international security system. They also pledged the full and complete implementation of the NPT to gradually achieve the goal of a non-nuclear-weapon world through political and diplomatic means.
Thirdly, the five nuclear powers vowed to keep using the P5 platform for continuous dialogue and coordination. They agreed to maintain a strategic dialogue and strengthen coordination in the NPT review process to jointly promote the 2020 Review Conference.
Geng noted, in light of the current situation, the fact that the five nuclear states are sitting down for face-to-face and in-depth discussions on urgent strategic security issues in itself sends an important and positive signal to the world.
As a rotating coordinating country of the five-nuclear-state cooperation mechanism, China will continue to promote world peace and stability, replacing major country competition with coordination, and turn zero-sum mentality into a win-win relationship, Geng added.
