On October 22, 2019, the Disarmament and International Security of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) held a thematic debate on nuclear disarmament issues. Chinese Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary for Disarmament Affairs Li Song delivered a speech and elaborated on China's nuclear policy and proposition. He forcefully refuted the United States (US) representative's arbitrary attack on China's national defense construction and arms control policy.

Ambassador Li Song pointed out, the global strategic security environment is undergoing complex and profound changes, and the international nuclear disarmament process has been seriously affected. The initiator is the US. Clinging to the Cold War mentality, the US stirs troubles in the Asia-Pacific region and other parts of the world, pursues a more aggressive nuclear strategy, makes the international regulations no longer bind on itself under the pretext of other countries, goes all out to develop and deploy nuclear armaments, lowers the threshold for nuclear weapons usage, and vigorously promotes the global anti-missile system and the strategy of outer space domination, which seriously undermines global strategic balance and stability.

Li Song said, during this year's UNGA, many countries expressed their deep regret and serious concerns over the US withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian Nuclear Issue and urged the US-Russia bilateral nuclear disarmament process to continue and develop. This is the shared aspiration of the international community. China actively advocates that the nuclear-weapon states reaffirm the key principle of "nuclear wars can never be won and must never be fought", which has received universal response from the international community. On the contrary, no one in the Trump administration is willing to step forward and reiterate this famous saying of the former US President Ronald Reagan. The US owes the world an explanation.

Li Song emphasized, China is not the US, nor will it become the US and pursue the US nuclear strategy. Pending lowering its nuclear arsenal to the level of China's, any and all US accusations targeting the Chinese military strength cannot but be as hypocritical and hollow as they are feeble and futile. Based on the national defense policy for self-defense, China deploys relevant missile equipment in its own territory, which is fully used to defend China's sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, and will not pose any threat to any country that does not intend to infringe China's sovereignty, security and territorial integrity.

Li Song said, the Cold War has long been a history, and any attempts to make it a reality anew will definitely be met with general boycott and resolute opposition from the international community. The international community should work together to build a community with a shared future for mankind, abandon the Cold War mentality and zero-sum game mindset, fully respect each other's legitimate and reasonable security concerns, and do away with any root causes of the possession and proliferation of nuclear weapons. As a country with the largest nuclear arsenal, the US should earnestly fulfill its special and primary responsibilities in nuclear disarmament, safeguard and extend the US-Russia bilateral nuclear disarmament treaty, substantially reduce nuclear arsenals in a verifiable manner, and create necessary conditions for advancing multilateral nuclear disarmament process. China has always been an important and active force in safeguarding world peace and promoting international security and will continue to be committed to peaceful development, actively practice multilateralism, inject impetus into the international arms control and disarmament process, and contribute to the lofty cause of promoting peace and security for mankind.