China Reaffirms No-First-Use Nuclear Policy

China said today it would not use nuclear weapons first in any conflict, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, July 18).

Bejing would not initiate a nuclear exchange “at any time and under any condition,” the official Xinhua news agency quoted Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing as saying.

“China has consistently observed the commitment since its first nuclear test in 1964,” Li said.

Beijing was apparently distancing itself from comments by Gen. Zhu Chenghu last week that China could use nuclear weapons if the United States were to militarily intervene on its territory, including Taiwan.

“What [Zhu] said was only his personal view and did not represent the stance of the Chinese government,” said Li.

Li added, however, that China “will never allow anyone or any force to separate Taiwan from China by any means” (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, July 22).

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