China urges US to commit to no-first-use nuclear weapons policy

BEIJING, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- A foreign ministry spokesperson on Tuesday called on the United States to follow China in committing to a policy of no-first-use of nuclear weapons, and to cut its nuclear weapons drastically on the basis of extending the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.

"Among the five nuclear powers, China is the only country pursuing the policy of no-first-use of nuclear weapons, and this policy will not be changed. We hope the U.S. can make the same commitment as China does as soon as possible," spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a daily press briefing.

"Can the U.S. make this commitment publicly?" she continued.

Hua's comments came after the U.S. Department of State released an article titled "China's Nuclear Madness," accusing China of allowing no transparency in its growing nuclear arsenal.

Hua said "lie diplomacy" of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the U.S. State Department has had a tremendous and terrible influence on the credibility and image of the United States.

"It is widely known that the U.S. has the largest and most advanced nuclear arsenal," she said. "But the Trump administration has seriously undermined global strategic security and stability by evading its special responsibility in nuclear disarmament, wantonly pulling out of treaties and organizations, spending trillions of dollars upgrading its nuclear arsenal, and lowering the threshold of using nuclear weapons."

The international community has a fair conclusion on who is pursuing nuclear madness, Hua said, urging the U.S. side to stop smearing China and acting like a thief crying "stop thief."

China adheres to a national defense policy that is defensive in nature, and always keeps its nuclear capabilities at the minimum level required for its national security, the spokesperson said.

China also maintains the policy of no-first-use of nuclear weapons at any time and under any circumstances, and unconditionally commits itself to not using or threatening to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon states or nuclear-weapon-free zones, said Hua.

"We urge the U.S. side to respond positively to Russia's call and agree to extend the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty as soon as possible, and further reduce its nuclear weapons drastically on this basis," Hua said.