Dr. Tong Zhao, a Fellow at the Carnegie–Tsinghua Center for Global Policy, gave oral evidence to the UK House of Lords Select Committee on International Relations on issues related to NPT and nuclear disarmament on February 20, 2019. Below are the opening lines of the transcript.

“The Chairman: Dr Tong Zhao, we are extremely pleased to welcome you this morning. We thank you for sparing the time to share your wisdom with our Committee on the crucial matters of arms control, nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. Good morning on behalf of the Committee.

Dr Tong Zhao: Thank you so much for having me.

The Chairman: I shall start by asking you a fairly general question, which is to describe China’s position on nuclear power, nuclear weapons, non-proliferation, disarmament and, obviously, the future review of the Non-Proliferation Treaty that is coming up. Associated with that, you have just finished in Beijing the important P5 conference of the existing nuclear powers, where China has taken a very active and apparently constructive part. We would like to hear your comments on that. On those two matters, I give the floor to you to tell us how you view these things.

Dr Tong Zhao: Thank you so much. Before I answer your question, please feel free to let me know if the connection is not good or if you cannot hear me very clearly. I think the way that China feels about the issue of non-proliferation has changed dramatically over the last few decades. During the revolutionary years, China believed that some nuclear proliferation within the developing countries could be a good news for international peace because it helped break the monopoly on nuclear weapons by the big superpowers. However, that perception changed after China opened up to the international system and started to engage with the Western world. Today, I think the Chinese mindset is very much aligned with the international community. China is a full supporter of nuclear non-proliferation….”

In addition, Dr. Zhao also submitted written evidence on various issues of nuclear disarmament to the UK House of Lords Select Committee on February 12, 2019. To view the full text, please click here.

Image: iStock, Denis Kuvaiev.