(28 November 2016, THE Hague)
Mr. Chairman,
Please allow me, at the outset, to congratulate you, on behalf of the Chinese delegation, on your election as the Chairman of the Conference of States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention. The Chinese delegation is prepared to cooperate fully with you, and with all the other delegations, in making this session a success. I would also like to express my appreciation to your predecessor, His Excellency Ambassador Eduardo Ibarrola-Nicolin of Mexico for the excellent work which he has performed.
Mr. Chairman,
This year, thanks to the joint efforts made by all the States Parties of the OPCW, the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) has continued to press ahead. And the significance of the CWC and the OPCW for the safeguarding of global peace and security has been further highlighted. China wishes to commend the Director-General, His Excellency Ahmet Üzümcü, and all the colleagues in the Secretariat for their professionalism and dedication, and thank them for the enormous amount of work which they have carried outin promoting the implementation of the Convention.
The Chinese delegation thanks the Director-General, His Excellency Ahmet Üzümcü, for his comprehensive work report, and associates itself with the statement made by Her Excellency Ambassador Haifa Aissami of Venezuela on behalf of the NAM States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention and China. Now, please allow me to elaborate China’s position further.
Firstly, the OPCW should make continuous and relentless efforts to press CW destructionforward. CW destruction constitutes not only a core object of the Convention, but also the primary task of the OPCW for a very long time to come. The OPCW should continue to ensure its resources inputs in this regard. The CW possessor states concerned should work to complete their destructions at an early date in compliance with the Convention and the relevant decisions adopted by the policy-making organs of the OPCW.
At the same time, it is China’s hope that States Parties will remain united, preserve the authority, unity and the tradition of consensus of the OPCW, and work to achieve eventuallya proper solution to the issue of the Syrian CWs through dialogues and cooperation. The Fact-Finding Mission, the Declaration Assessment Team and the OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism should all continue to take an objective and impartial approach and conduct their respective work as mandated professionally, and that they will strengthen theircooperation with the Syrian government while respecting the sovereignty of the countryinvolved.
Secondly, the destruction of the chemical weapons abandoned by Japan in China (Japanese ACWs) brooks of no further delay. Given the fact that the destruction of Japanese ACWs hasa direct impact on the realisation of the core objects and purposes of the Convention, the lofty goal of building “a world free from chemical weapons” will never be truly attained so long as Japanese ACWs have not been eliminated. Although over 70 years have passed since the end of the Japanese War of Aggression against China, large quantities of Japanese ACWs are stillendangering the Chinese people’s lives and properties and the ecological and environmental safety in China. Japan should bear the full responsibility for its failure to complete thedestruction according to the timeline under the Convention. China urges Japan to implementfaithfully the relevant decision adopted by the Executive Council (Council) of the OPCW and increase its inputs in the process, so as to ensure the completion of the destruction as scheduled.
As the territorial state, China has taken a constructive approach and made a great deal ofefforts for facilitating the resolution of the issue of Japanese ACW. For this purpose, China has brought on itself considerable political and social pressures. Such efforts include itsconsent to Japan carrying out the destruction of Japanese ACWs in China, which is the bestdemonstration of China’s flexibility and cooperation. It is regrettable, however, that Japan stated explicitly at the 82nd session of the Council of the OPCW that it would be unable tomeet the phased target for the destruction of Japanese ACWs by the end of 2016, as specified by the decision adopted by the Council at its 67th session. This represents the third time, after defaulting on the deadline both in 2007 and 2012, that Japan fails to fulfil its task according to the schedule laid down for the destruction of Japanese ACWs. To this day, Japan has not yet reached agreement with China on a destruction plan beyond the set timeframe. China expresses hereby its grave concern over this situation. The OPCW ought to pay high attention to the delayed destruction of Japanese ACWs. And the Conference mustuphold the authority and validity of the Council decision, express its concern over the delay, urge Japan to reach agreement with China on a subsequent destruction plan before the end of 2016, and ask the Council to remain seized of the progress in the discussion between China and Japan on the destruction plan.
On this occasion，China also expresses its hope that the OPCW will continue to ensure resources inputs in its verification regarding Japanese ACWs, and maintain its deliberationson and monitoring of the issue of Japanese ACWs through the Council, the Conference and the Review Conference. China welcomes a visit to be paid by an OPCW Executive Councildelegation in 2017 to Japanese ACWs destruction facilities in China, with a view to examining the work of the Japanese ACWs destruction.
Thirdly, the future development of the OPCW represents an important topic of this Organization. Next year, we will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the entry into force of the Convention. China was very pleased to see the successful initiation of the work of the Open-Ended Working Group on the Future Priorities of the OPCW, and commends its co-chairpersons for their work. China hopes that the working group will continue to follow the principles of letting States Parties take the dominant role and the policy-making organs make decisions and having consensus, and work openly and transparently, and that, on the basis of giving due consideration to the interests of all parties, making plans collectively and pooling together the wisdom from all sides, it will produce results at an early date, so as to submitthem to the Fourth Review Conference for consideration.
Fourthly, the OPCW should attach importance to the developing nations’ legitimate rights and interests and reasonable desires, and work to intensify international cooperationconstantly. As a key cornerstone of the Convention, international cooperation is of greatimportance to the full implementation of the Convention. The OPCW should pay attention and respond to the requirements of the States Parties which are developing nations, ensure its resources inputs in the area of international cooperation, plan overall and optimize international cooperation programmes, and further explore ways to promote fully international exchanges of chemicals, equipment and scientific and technical information. China commends the Secretariat and the States Parties concerned for their efforts for fostering international cooperation, and is ready, alongside all other parties, to play an active role in enhancing the effective implementation of the relevant provisions of the Convention and the particular decision adopted by the Conference at its 16th Session in 2011.
Mr. Chairman,
China has consistently supported the objects and purposes of the Convention, and fulfilled allthe obligations under it in earnest. As the State Party with the largest numbers of declared facilities under Article VI of the Convention, China has, up to date, received close to 450 OPCW inspections of all categories, with 36 already carried out this year alone, of whichthere were 26 industry inspections and 10 Japanese ACW inspections. Last June, China and the OPCW jointly held in China a workshop on chemical trade policy and export control.
Next year, China will carry on with its close cooperation with the Secretariat of the OPCW, and will jointly hold a training course on assistance and protection against CWs, as well as a medical training course. Interested States Parties are most welcome to participate. Through seminars, training courses and bilateral exchanges, China hopes to assist other States Partiesactively in enhancing their capabilities for implementing the Convention. And China is prepared to contribute to the promotion of the universality and effectiveness of the Convention. As always, China will continue to support the DG and the Secretariat in their work and strengthen the bilateral cooperation, in a joint effort to advance the process of the realization of a world free from CWs.
The Chinese delegation requests the circulation of this statement as an official document of this session of the Conference.
Now, with your permission, Mr. Chairman, I would like to pass the floor to Mr. Enoch Yuen, Assistant Director-General of the Trade and Industry Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China. He will brief the Conference on the efforts made and measures taken by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for implementing the Convention.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.