(The Hague, March 4, 2025)

Mr. Chairman,

The Chinese delegation welcomes you back to chair this session of the Executive Council. This delegation will continue to support you in your work. China welcomes the opening statement made by the Director-General and the respective reports by the vice-chairpersons. China associates itself with the statement made by the ambassador of Uganda on behalf of the States Parties of the Non-Aligned Movement and China. Now, I would like to elaborate on China’s positions further.

At present, the international situation is full of changes, turbulence and entanglement. Turmoils and transformations are intensifying; emerging technologies are developing rapidly; and uncertainty is becoming increasingly prominent. Against this background, President Xi Jinping proposed the “Three Global Initiatives”, especially the Global Security Initiative, which provide a strategic guidance for building a community with a shared future for humankind.

The Chemical Weapons Convention is one of the important pillars of global security governance. The number of States Parties has increased from 65 in October 1996 to 193 today, making it the most universal international arms control treaty. Under the current circumstances, the direction in which the OPCW will go is crucial. China calls on all parties to practise true multilateralism based on coordination and cooperation, strengthen dialogue and communication, ensure the effective implementation of the Convention and safeguard its authority effectively.

China has the following propositions:

Firstly, accelerating the destruction of the chemical weapons abandoned by Japan in China (JACWs). JACWs represent the most outstanding issue in the current field of chemical weapons (CW) disarmament. They are thus directly related to the realization of “a world free of CWs”. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War. Unfortunately, the complete destruction of JACWs is still a long way off. China is deeply concerned about this situation. China urges Japan to increase its inputs and destroy all its ACWs at an early date. Last September, the DG and a Council delegation visited JACW facilities in China. They witnessed the scale of JACWs and the severity of the harm which they pose, as well as the huge gap between what Japan’s inputs have been and what they should have been. At this session, the Council will consider the final report on the visit to China. The members of the Council are all welcome to review it. China wishes to thank the Council for its long-term attention given to this issue, and hopes that it will continue to play its supervisory and verification role.

Secondly, promoting dialogue and consultation for resolving hotspot issues. History and experience have both proved that the exertion of pressure from one camp to another and the practice of forced voting will not help solve any problem. China calls on all parties to adhere to the spirit of unity and cooperation, uphold fairness and justice and seek to resolve the CWs-related hotspot issues through dialogue and consultation. China has noted the DG’s visit to Syria. China welcomes his efforts to promote the resolution of the relevant issues of CWs in Syria and the positive commitment made by the new Syrian authorities. China commends Qatar’s role in coordination, and encourages all the parties concerned to maintain the momentum of cooperation and resolve the outstanding issues at an early date. China has also noted the recent report on the Technical Assistance Visit (TAV) to Ukraine and Russia’s recent note issued by the TS. China calls upon all sides to uphold an impartial position and work to solve the issue of the alleged use of CWs strictly according to the provisions of the Convention.

Thirdly, strengthening the safety governance in the chemical field. In the recent years, emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), have developed swiftly, bringing new opportunities and challenges to the implementation of the Convention. China has put forward the Global AI Governance Initiative, which advocates the use of intelligence for good and the strengthening of inclusiveness and universal benefits. China commends the DG for attaching strategic importance to the development of emerging technologies like AI, and for supporting States Parties in discussing the AI empowerment for the implementation of the Convention and the response to technical challenges. China welcomes the success of the Morocco AI Conference held in last October, and is ready to continue to have an in-depth participation in the relevant activities in the framework of the OPCW. China supports the enjoyment of the developing countries of more development results. In June this year, China will, jointly with the TS, hold an AI capacity-building workshop in Shanghai. All states, especially the developing countries, are welcome to attend it. China will continue to take a constructive part in the process of the reform of the industry inspection mechanism, in an effort to promote the reasonable and balanced distribution of the inspection resources.

Fourthly, giving emphasis to the requirement of the developing countries. To enjoy the dividends of economic and technological development in the chemical industry is a legitimate right granted to States Parties by the Convention. China commends the efforts made by the TS to promote capacity-building in the field of chemistry. At the same time, China calls on all parties to continue to stick to the problem-oriented approach and put the prominent requirements of the developing nations in a key position. China calls for greater attention and support accorded to the issues of concern to the developing states, such as international cooperation, geographical representation and the interpretation of the rules governing elections of the Members of the Council. China is also prepared to continue to work with the members of the Asian Group in actively exploring the possibility of optimizing the allocation of the seats on the Council with other regional groups.

Mr. Chairman,

Being the country with world’s largest chemical industry, China has always been a model in fulfilling its obligations under the Convention. China pays more than 20% of the total of the OPCW’s assessed contribution. And it has already received more than 500 industry inspections. Over the years, China has actively supported the OPCW in carrying out international cooperation and capacity-building. In the past two years, it has provided financial and in-kind support for the customs laboratory training courses and Associate Programme held at the ChemTech Center. Last October, it also successfully held a training course on the medical aspects of assistance and protection against CW in Xi’an. In the future, China will, within its own capabilities, continue to make greater contributions to the full and effective implementation of the Convention.

The Chinese delegation would like kindly to request that this statement be circulated as an official document of this session and published on the OPCW’s public website and Catalyst.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.