Refuting US President Donald Trump's claim that China is testing nuclear weapons, Beijing clarified that as a responsible nuclear-weapon state, the country is committed to peaceful development.
Mao Ning, spokesperson for China's foreign ministry, said her country adheres to the "no first use" policy of nuclear weapons, according to Global Times.
Trump had claimed that Russia, Pakistan, China, and North Korea are testing nuclear weapons in an attempt to justify his administration's plans to resume testing of nuclear assets after a gap of over three decades.
Mao clarified that China has a self-defensive nuclear strategy and is ready to work with all parties to uphold the authority of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). She said Beijing is ready to protect the international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime.
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Further, she expressed hope that America will abide by its obligations under the CTBT and abide by the rules governing global order in this regard.
Shortly before meeting Xi in South Korea on Thursday, Trump said on Truth Social that the US will resume testing nuclear weapons for the first time in three decades.
Later, defending his stance, Trump had said, "They (other countries) test, and we do not test. We have to test. And Russia did make—a little bit of a threat the other day when they said they were gonna do certain forms of a different level of testing. But Russia tests, China—and China does test, and we are gonna test also."