Mr Chairman,
On behalf of the Chinese delegation, please allow me to begin by welcoming you back to the Chair of the Executive Council (“the Council”). The Chinese delegation is prepared to join all the other parties in actively assisting you in your work, so as to contribute to the success of this session in all its deliberations.
The Chinese delegation wishes to thank the Director-General and the Vice-Chairpersons of the Council for their respective reports. This delegation associates itself with the statement made by the Permanent Representative of Venezuela to the OPCW, H.E. Ambassador Haifa Aissami Madah, on behalf of the NAM CWC States Parties and China.
I have noted that at this Council session, action is required on certain issues, and that, however, on some important ones, States Parties still differ in their opinions. It is China’s constant view that on issues upon which there is no agreement, different parties should hold extensive consultations in order to listen to different views and seek as much as possible to reach a consensus. The easy practice of going to a vote will not help resolve the differences, and will be unfavourable to the sound operation and long-term interest of the OPCW. Now, I would like to take this opportunity to elaborate China’s positions and views further regarding the following issues.
Firstly, on the destruction of chemical weapons (CW), China takes note of the progress made in the destruction of CW stockpiles in the recent years, and urges the remaining CW possessor state to complete its destruction as soon as possible. With the joint efforts by both China and Japan, some progress has been made in the destruction of the chemical weapons (ACW) abandoned by Japan on the territory of China. However, the overall destruction process is still lagging far behind the schedule, and poses a real threat to the lives and properties of Chinese people and the safety of its environment. China urges Japan to fulfil in earnest its responsibility as an abandoning state, increase its inputs to accelerate the destruction process, and deal properly with such prominent issues as the soil contamination. China will as always provide its collaboration. From Sept. 2nd to 7th, a EC delegation visited the Harbaling ACW destruction facility in Jilin Province, China. The Secretariat (TS) already distributed a detailed report on the visit a few days ago. China believes that the visit and its related report will contribute to helping all parties understand the whole picture of the destruction of Japanese ACWs, particularly the urgency of the destruction, bringing the Council, the Conference and the Review Conference to perform their reviewing and monitoring functions effectively, and advancing the timely completion of the destruction within the timeframe specified by the relevant Council decision.
Secondly, on the elimination of the Syrian chemical weapon program, China has noted the relevant reports circulated by the DG and Syria. China calls upon the TS and Syria to maintain their engagement and dialogue, so as to forge positive progress in clarifying the unresolved issues, including that concerning its initial declaration. China has been consistently against the use of CWs by any state or any individual under any circumstances. With respect to the incidents of alleged uses of CWs, China believes that the investigation should be carried out according to the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention and its Verification Annex. The conclusion of the investigation should be based on facts and stand the test of time and history.
China has taken note of the report submitted by the TS on the work progress of the Investigation and Identification Team. Unfortunately, disagreements still exist among different parties on the attribution of the responsibility for the use of CWs. And once again, they have impacted some issues which concern the operation of the OPCW, such as the budget. China reiterates that all the parties should bring the implementation of the “Decision on Addressing the Threat Posed by Chemical Weapons Use” back into the framework of the Convention, in order to preserve the authority and effectiveness of the Convention. This will also be conducive to a consensus to be reached among all sides on the programme and budget of this Organization. As a major policy-making organ under the Convention which is responsible for handling compliance issues, the Council must fully execute its authority and functions entrusted to it by the Convention, and strictly supervise all the activities of the TS, including that of the investigation of the incidents and the attribution of the responsibility for the use of CWs.
Thirdly, the Chinese delegation has actively engaged itself in the consultation on the budgetary issues, and welcomes the measures proposed by the TS for improving the predictability of the budget and resolving the problems caused by major funding shortfalls. China is willing to work with other parties in looking into how relevant plans can be improved, so as to ensure the sound operation of the OPCW.
It should be pointed out that serious differences of views among different parties remain on the draft decision on the 2020 Program and Budget. For a long time, the TS has proposed separate draft decisions on the regular budget and on other funding issues. While it is consistent with the financial regulations and rules, such an approach has also formed a fine customary practice. This time, the TS has included all the budget-related decisions in one package. Many states, including China, have concerns about it. It is hoped that all sides will attach importance to those concerns, for the sake of creating conditions for the smooth consideration of the 2020 budget.
Fourthly, China has noted the draft proposal by the relevant states on the revision of the rules of procedure of the Advisory Body on Administrative and Financial Matters. In China’s view, as an open-ended mechanism without any decision-making authority, the Advisory Body on Administrative and Financial Matters should maintain its diversity and geographical balance. States Parties have the right to nominate candidates as they see fit, and their qualifications for serving in the body should be aligned with those of other similar international organizations. It is improper to formulate subjective, arbitrary, ambiguous or controversial qualifications or codes of conduct for the service.
Fifthly, China reiterates its support for the initiative for the establishment of open-ended working groups. China has taken note of the proposal by the Chairman of the Council for setting up a coordination mechanism for existing facilitations. It is China’s view that any proposal for revitalizing existing facilitations must uphold the principles of openness and inclusiveness, and be aimed at ensuring that the facilitations on all item are advanced in a balanced way.
Lastly, I would like to take this opportunity to express China’s support for the project to upgrade the OPCW chemical laboratory. China believes that this initiative will keep the OPCW abreast of the progress of scientific and technological development, and provide necessary support and assistance to the large number of the developing countries for their capacity-building. For this reason, the Chinese government has decided to provide its voluntary contribution to this project.
The Chinese delegation requests that this statement be circulated as an official document of this session and uploaded onto the internal website of the OPCW.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.