Geneva | WTNS | October 11:China’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations Geng Shuang rejected the baseless accusations made by the US representative against China on its arms control policy and COVID-19.

Geng made the remarks in the general debate of the First Committee of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly.

“Just now, the US representative has again spread a political virus in the UN and smeared China on COVID-19, which is completely unacceptable. I must point out that shrugging off responsibility won’t cover the mistakes made by the US in combating the pandemic and it also doesn’t fool the international community,” CGTN quoted Geng as saying.

China opposes arms race, upholds multilateralism, implements its obligations under relevant arms control treaties and agreements, and supports dialogue and cooperation in the security area. China’s positive contribution to international security and disarmament is widely recognized, he stressed.

China’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations Geng Shuang then listed ten reasons why the US is the greatest threat to global security.

First, the US is obsessed with military build-up. The US ranks first in military expenditure. In 2019, it spent more than $700 billion on military expenditures, nearly 40% of the world’s total, and more than the following 10 biggest spenders combined.

Second, the US is returning to the Cold War mentality. In its National Security Strategy Report and Nuclear Posture Review Report, it blatantly defined China and Russia as strategic competitors, hyping up external threats, and stirring up a confrontation among major countries.

Third, the US is pursuing unilateralism. It withdrew from the INF Treaty and the JCPOA, unsigned the ATT, and adopted a negative attitude towards the extension of the New START Treaty, exposing its pure pragmatism on bilateral and multilateral arms control treaties and regimes.

Fourth, the US is seeking to free its hands from accountability. The US has been upgrading its nuclear arsenals and lowering the threshold for nuclear weapons use. It has dodged its special responsibility for nuclear disarmament with the pretext of so-called trilateral negotiations and even had discussions on resuming nuclear tests.

Fifth, the US is engaging in political manipulation, following double standards on nuclear non-proliferation; it indiscriminately imposes unilateral sanctions by using central issues, such as the nuclear concerns in Iran and DPRK to push its geopolitical agenda.

Sixth, the US is breaking the strategic balance. The US has deployed missile defense systems in the Asia-Pacific and Central and Eastern Europe and is planning to deploy land-based medium-range missiles in the Asia-Pacific and Europe, aiming to strengthen the military presence and establish absolute dominance.

Seventh, the US is impeding biological arms control. The US is the only country blocking the relaunch of negotiations for a protocol that includes a verification regime to strengthen the Biological Weapons Convention, and obstructing international efforts to verify this kind of biological activities. The US is now a “stumbling block” when it comes to biological arms control.

Eighth, the US is delaying the destruction of chemical weapons. As the only CWC State Party still in possession of chemical weapons, the US has extended the deadline for the destruction of chemical weapons several times and failed to fulfill its obligations under the Convention. The US has become the biggest obstacle to a world free of chemical weapons.

Ninth, the US is relaunching its star wars program. The US has created the Space Force, reestablished the Space Command, and sped up weapon tests and military drills in outer space. These acts threaten outer space security and seriously contradict the peaceful use of outer space.

Tenth, the US is building a hacking empire. The US is engaged in massive cyber-attacks and surveillance worldwide through programs, such as PRISM, and developing its cyber warfare capacity in an attempt to dominate cyberspace.

Geng, at last, expressed his hope that the US can participate in the work of the First Committee in an open, responsible, and constructive manner, and work with other countries to ensure the success of the Committee’s work, promote international arms control, and disarmament process, and safeguard global strategic security and stability.