China's Arms Control, Disarmament, and Nonproliferation in the New Era
The State Council Information Office of the People's Republic of China November 2025
II. Position and Policies: China's Arms Control in the New Era
China's policies on arms control, disarmament, and nonproliferation in the new era are based on its cultural tradition of harmony, its socialist nature, and its strategic commitment to peaceful development. China works to promote global governance in arms control and supports all efforts to build a world of lasting peace and common security.
Building a community with a shared future for humanity. Humanity is both a community with a shared future and an indivisible security community. Safeguarding world peace and security and promoting global strategic balance and stability are key missions of arms control, disarmament, and nonproliferation, and also an inherent part of building a community with a shared future for humanity. China has always upheld the common values of all humanity in its arms control endeavors in the new era, and has actively responded to the legitimate and reasonable security concerns of all countries. It is committed to building a new type of international relations characterized by mutual respect, fairness, justice, and win-win cooperation, and working together with other countries to build an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world of lasting peace, universal security, and shared prosperity.
Actively promoting the Global Security Initiative. This initiative seeks to address the root causes of international conflicts and strengthen global security governance. It offers China's vision and solutions to the security challenges confronting humanity. Founded on a spirit of solidarity and a win-win mindset, China's arms control in the new era manifests a vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security. The focus of its policies is whether they can strengthen global strategic stability and contribute to a fair and just security architecture built by all and for the benefit of all. China will take a holistic view towards the role of arms control in promoting strategic balance and stability, perform its functions in safeguarding security and curbing wars, and constructively advance international arms control.
Firmly pursuing a national defense policy that is defensive in nature. This policy is the fundamental guideline for China's national defense and military development. It defines the basic position of the country's arms control policy in the new era. China remains committed to peaceful development and will never seek hegemony or expansion, or seek to build spheres of influence. Founded on commitments to defense, self-defense, and striking only after being attacked, China is resolute in safeguarding its sovereignty, security, and development interests. It stays committed to the Chinese path to building a strong military and never engages in any form of arms race. A stronger Chinese military always adds strength to the world's peaceful forces.
Maintaining open, transparent, reasonable and appropriate national defense spending. China determines its defense expenditure at a reasonable level in accordance with the policy of coordinating development in national defense and economic growth. Compared with the United States and other countries with a strong military, China's defense spending remains relatively low in terms of its share of GDP, as a proportion of total fiscal expenditure, and on both a per capita and per-service-member basis. China actively participates in the UN's transparency mechanisms on military expenditures, and ensures transparency regarding the scale, structure, and fundamental purposes of its military budget. Since 2007, it has submitted annual reports on its military expenditures for the previous fiscal year to the UN Report on Military Expenditures.
Upholding the principles of justice, cooperation, balance and effectiveness in arms control. China is committed to fairness and justice. It considers issues on their own merits and decides its position and policies accordingly. China firmly safeguards the basic norms governing international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, addresses international arms control and nonproliferation issues in a just, reasonable and nondiscriminatory manner, and opposes political coercion, exceptionalism, and double standards.
China advocates win-win cooperation, true multilateralism, and equal and mutually beneficial international cooperation. It seeks to achieve arms control and nonproliferation objectives through political and diplomatic means.
China maintains an overall balance in its approach, emphasizing both conventional and emerging fields. It addresses both the symptoms and root causes of global security threats in a comprehensive manner while coordinating the handling of complex arms control issues. It respects the fundamental rights and development needs of all countries and strives to balance nonproliferation and peaceful utilization. It opposes abusing the concept of national security and export control measures, and exerting restrictions on developing countries' rights to peaceful uses and legitimate development.
China pursues practical and effective results, and resolutely upholds the authority, universality and effectiveness of international arms control and nonproliferation regimes. It advances international arms control and nonproliferation processes in a rational, practical and step-by-step manner acceptable to all parties, and rejects attempts to replace the UN platform.
Extensively engaging in the global governance of arms control. In the new era, China's approach to arms control is guided by the vision of global governance characterized by extensive consultation and joint contribution for shared benefit. China calls for stronger solidarity and cooperation, opposes unilateralism, firmly upholds the status and authority of the UN, and supports the UN in playing an indispensable role in global governance. It advocates for a more inclusive governance framework, more effective multilateral mechanisms, and more proactive international cooperation. It has ratified or signed over 20 multilateral arms control treaties and strictly complies with their obligations.
China has been fully and deeply involved in meetings and activities under the arms control mechanism, including those hosted by the Disarmament and International Security (First Committee) of the UN General Assembly, the UN Disarmament Commission (UNDC), and the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva (CD); it also supports the early convening of the Fourth Special Session of the UN General Assembly Devoted to Disarmament. All these have contributed to safeguarding and strengthening UN-centered multilateral mechanisms.
China also promotes international cooperation in arms control, disarmament, and nonproliferation, and facilitates bilateral and multilateral exchanges. It has established arms control and nonproliferation consultation mechanisms with over 20 countries and international organizations to foster mutual understanding and trust.
