FILE: UN Headquarters, New York City - July 24, 2024 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. United Nations (UN) headquarters, national flags
2. UN flag

UN Headquarters, New York City - April 27, 2026 (UNTV - For news purpose only/No archive/Not for other production use)
3. 11th Review Conference of Parties to Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in progress
4. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Xu Feng, Counselor, Disarmament Division, Permanent Mission of China to the UN:
"China has always kept its nuclear forces at the minimum level required for national security, and has always shown extreme restraint in the size and development of its arsenal. It has never competed with other nuclear-armed states in investment, quantity, or scale. China has not done so in the past, nor will it ever engage in a nuclear arms race with any country in the future. Some countries choose to turn a blind eye. They have deliberately hyped up the claim that China is pursuing a nuclear arms race and rapidly building up its arsenal, stoking fears of a so-called 'Chinese nuclear threat.' These accusations are completely unfounded and ill-intentioned."

FILE: UN headquarters, New York City - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
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Labeling the accusations of a "Chinese nuclear threat" as groundless and ill-intentioned, a Chinese representative said on Monday at a UN conference that China has always followed a defensive nuclear strategy and exercised utmost restraint over nuclear buildup.

Xu Feng, counselor for the Disarmament Division at China's Permanent Mission to the United Nations, made the remarks at the 11th Review Conference of the Parties to the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) which opened Monday at the United Nations Headquarters in New York and will run until May 22.

"China has always kept its nuclear forces at the minimum level required for national security, and has always shown extreme restraint in the size and development of its arsenal. It has never competed with other nuclear-armed states in investment, quantity, or scale. China has not done so in the past, nor will it ever engage in a nuclear arms race with any country in the future," Xu said.

"Some countries choose to turn a blind eye. They have deliberately hyped up the claim that China is pursuing a nuclear arms race and rapidly building up its arsenal, stoking fears of a so-called 'Chinese nuclear threat.' These accusations are completely unfounded and ill-intentioned," Xu said.

He also slammed certain countries for applying double standards on issues such as nuclear sharing, nuclear umbrellas, and extended deterrence, noting that such practices undermine the international nuclear disarmament process and the non-proliferation system.

The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is a landmark international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament.

The treaty represents the only binding commitment in a multilateral treaty to the goal of disarmament by the nuclear-weapon states. Opened for signature in 1968, the treaty entered into force in 1970. On May 11, 1995, the treaty was extended indefinitely. A total of 191 states have joined the treaty, including the five nuclear-weapon states.