China didn't simply overlook the differences in each country's abilities in honoring their international obligations for nuclear security. In the summit, China spoke for nuclear developing countries and said that countries differ in their national conditions and their stages of nuclear power development, and the nuclear security challenges they face also vary from one to another. Xi said that "while stressing the importance of countries honoring their international obligations, we should respect their right to adopt nuclear security policies and measures best suited to their specific conditions as well as their right to protect sensitive nuclear security information." As a developing country that uses nuclear energy widely, China has given the direction for cooperation between developing and developed countries in developing nuclear energy and fighting against nuclear terrorism.
The focus of this summit is to create an international system for nuclear security. Xi pointed it out that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should work as a core platform, supplemented by other multilateral mechanisms and initiatives, in the establishment of a comprehensive, multilevel and networked system of global nuclear security. Under such system, all the actors in international community have the opportunity to fight against nuclear terrorism.
At the Third Nuclear Security Summit, the international community China has made known not only its vision for an international system for nuclear security but also its actions taken in reducing the threats that undermine nuclear security. The largest nuclear security center in the Asia-Pacific region, financed by China and the United States, is expected to be up and running in 2015, aiming to spread advanced nuclear security practices to the Asia-Pacific region.
The author is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:
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The article was originally published in Chinese and translated by Li Huiru.
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