Fox News
China on Tuesday said it would keep modernizing its nuclear program in the name of "safety" but called on the United States and Russia to make greater cuts to their arsenal stockpiles.
"China will continue to modernize its nuclear arsenal for reliability and safety issues," Fu Cong, director-general of the Foreign Ministry’s arms control department said Tuesday, first reported the South China Morning Post.
Fu’s comments come one day after the five states recognized under the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) — the U.S., Russia, France, the United Kingdom and China, who are also the five permanent members (P5) of the UN Security Council — issued a joint pledge to lower the risk of nuclear war.
The P5 affirmed that "nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought" and that "nuclear weapons — for as long as they continue to exist — should serve defensive purposes, deter aggression, and prevent war."
