The People’s Republic of China, the French Republic, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America believe that avoiding wars among nuclear-weapon states and reducing strategic risks is our primary responsibility.
We affirm that a nuclear war cannot be won or fought. Given that the use of nuclear weapons will have far-reaching consequences, we also affirm that as long as nuclear weapons continue to exist, they should serve defensive purposes, deter aggression, and prevent war. We firmly believe that the further proliferation of nuclear weapons must be prevented.
We reiterate the importance of responding to nuclear threats and emphasize the importance of maintaining and complying with our bilateral and multilateral nonproliferation, disarmament, and arms control agreements and commitments. We will continue to comply with the obligations of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, including our obligations under Article VI, “on effective measures to stop the nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament at an early date, Treat a general and complete disarmament treaty and negotiate in good faith."
We are willing to maintain and further strengthen our respective national measures to prevent the unauthorized or accidental use of nuclear weapons. We reiterate that our previous statement on non-targeting is still valid, and we reiterate that we will not target each other or any other country with nuclear weapons.
We emphasize that we are willing to work with all countries to create a safe environment that is more conducive to the promotion of disarmament. The ultimate goal is to build a nuclear-weapon-free world on the principle that the security of all countries is not compromised. We will continue to look for bilateral and multilateral diplomatic methods to avoid military confrontation, enhance stability and predictability, enhance mutual understanding and trust, and prevent an arms race that is useless and endangers all parties. We are determined to engage in constructive dialogue based on mutual respect and recognition of each other’s security interests and concerns.
