BEIJING, January 4. /TASS/. The aspiration of the leaders of the five nuclear powers (Russia, the UK, the US, China, and France) to prevent nuclear war and to keep weapons of mass destruction under control will help strengthen mutual trust in the international arena, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu said on Monday.
The Joint Statement of the Leaders of the Five Nuclear-Weapons States will help enhance "mutual trust, said Ma, adding that replacing competition among major countries with coordination and cooperation is of positive significance to the building of major-country relations featuring overall stability and balanced development," Xinhua reported citing the diplomat as saying.
"China has always maintained a nuclear strategy that is defensive in nature, pursued a policy of no-first-use of nuclear weapons, and maintained its nuclear force at the minimum level required for safeguarding national security," the news agency said citing Ma.
"This in itself is an important contribution to global strategic stability," he said.
The Kremlin said earlier on Monday that the leaders of the five nuclear powers and the permanent members of the UN Security Council had adopted a joint statement on preventing nuclear war. The parties emphasized that it was crucial to preserve and abide by both bilateral and multilateral agreements and commitments in the nonproliferation, disarmament and arms control areas.