The Chinese Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary for Disarmament Affairs H.E. Li Song and his US counterpart Robert Wood had a bout at the recent Conference on Disarmament (CD) in Geneva, Switzerland. Amb. Li Song fought back resolutely against the rumor-mongering by the US side.

“The world will not be deceived by American lies”, hurled Amb. Li Song against Washington’s ridiculous rumor-mongering.

The CD in Geneva is the only standing multilateral platform of disarmament negotiation in the international community nowadays. China joined the conference in February 1980 and assigned a resident disarmament ambassador to Geneva in 1983. Due to the worldwide COVID-19 outbreak, CD’s second and third sessions beginning in March were postponed and convened on June 30.

At such an occasion of multilateral arms control and disarmament negotiation, the US disarmament ambassador Robert Wood began with launching a vicious attack of China’s anti-pandemic efforts, accusing China of concealing the epidemic and harming the world.

To his words, Amb. Li Song requested to exercise the right of reply and resolutely opposed and rejected the US accusations, saying that the US’ only goal is to divert domestic conflicts and shirk its domestic and international responsibilities for Washington’s disastrous pandemic response.

“Scapegoating is a clumsy trick played by the US, but its lies cannot deceive the world or the people. They will only fool the US itself. In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, what has China done for its people and the international community and what has America done for its people and the world? The world and history will have a fair judgment!”

Arms control is neither a game nor a trick. The US owes its sincerity to the world.

Amb. Wood during the CD unreasonably criticized China's nuclear arms control policy and military build-up, arguing that China poses a major threat to world peace and security. In the meantime, the US has strongly demanded China join the so-called “trilateral arms control dialogue with the US and Russia”, which Amb. Li Song pointed out was another way of “shifting blame”.

“Since China is not restricted by the US-Russia bilateral arms control treaty and doesn’t join the arms control negotiation, Washington wants to take that as an excuse to shake off the restriction imposed by the current treaty. In short, the US insists that no one does right except itself, and America must come first and be an exception,” said Amb. Li Song.

China has exposed the hypocrisy of America’s arms control policy and assertion at many multilateral occasions, including the CD and UN GeneralAssembly. “Arms control must show respect to history. As the superpower with the largest and most advanced nuclear arsenal, the US should not shirk its historic responsibilities for nuclear arms reduction simply by saying ‘the days of a bipolar world are gone’.”

China’s accession and US withdrawal, coincidental as it is, speaks for their attitudes.

Amb. Li Song announced at the CD that China would soon officially join the Arms Trade Treaty as the country has completed all the legal procedures at home. At the same time, the Trump administration announced its decision to revoke the signing of the treaty.

In the past half-century, the CD and its predecessor platform have, through negotiations, reached a long list of relevant international treaties, including the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Biological Weapons Convention, Convention on the Banning of Chemical Weapons and Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. However, the US has refused to negotiate about nuclear disarmament and other topics on various excuses.

“China’s joining the Arms Trade Treaty and America’s withdrawal is coincidental in time, but it speaks for their completely different attitude toward and practices on multilateral arms control. That’s why China’s joining of the treaty has receiveda positive response from the international community. Many representatives at the CD described it as good news much needed in multilateral arms control,” Amb. Li Song said.

Speaking of the international arms control process in the midst of today’s complicated international situation, Amb. Li Song said China would continue to safeguard and intensify the multilateral arms control mechanism and promote candid and pragmatic dialogue and cooperation. Arms reduction should not be used as a tool of major-country strategic rivalry but should be dedicated to protecting collective security free from the damaging effects of Cold War mentality.