On April 20, 2005, Vice Foreign Minister Qiao Zonghuai met with UN Under Secretary-General Mr. Nobuyasu Abe, who paid a visit to China and to attend the UN Workshop on Small Arms and Light Weapons. During the meeting, Qiao stressed that, China, as a responsible country, attaches great importance to and actively takes part in international arms control and non-proliferation process, and constantly strengthens and improves its domestic legal framework on non-proliferation and export controls. China has always stood for peaceful resolution of international disputes, advocated and supported a more important role of the UN in international peace and security.

Mr. Abe appreciated China's efforts to host Workshop on Small Arms and Light Weapons with the UN and others, which, in his view, demonstrated the importance China attached to the small arms and light weapons issue, as well as the multilateral arms control and disarmament process.

They also exchanged views on developments in international arms control, African regional issues, and the 2005 Review Conference of the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.