China, France Support Ideas on Preventing Nuclear War, Arms Race
14:23 GMT 07.04.2023 (Updated: 12:48 GMT 19.06.2023)
© AFP 2023 / Ludovic Marin
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Beijing and Paris reaffirm their support for the prevention of a nuclear war and arms race, and call on the international community to prevent any armed attacks of peaceful nuclear facilities, China and France said in a joint statement on Friday.
Macron arrived in China on Thursday for a state visit, along with a delegation from the European Commission. He met with Chinese President Xi Jinping as well as other high-ranking Chinese officials.
"France and China reiterate their endorsement of the Joint Statement of the Leaders of China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States (P5) on Preventing Nuclear War and Avoiding Arms Races. As this statement says 'a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.' Both countries urge to refrain from any actions likely to aggravate tensions," the joint statement said.
Both China and France condemn armed attacks on nuclear power plants and other peaceful nuclear facilities.
"Both sides oppose armed attacks on nuclear power plants and other peaceful nuclear facilities, support the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in its efforts to play a constructive role in promoting the safety and security of peaceful nuclear facilities, including ensuring the safety and security of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant," the statement said.
Also Beijing and Paris agree to deepen strategic cooperation, namely the dialogue between the military.
"France and China agree to deepen exchanges on strategic issues and in particular to deepen the dialogue between the Southern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army of China and the Command of the French forces in the Asia-Pacific (ALPACI) in order to strengthen mutual understanding of regional and international security issues," the joint statement said.
Meanwhile Beijing and Paris emphasize the importance of high-level exchanges and strategic dialogue.
"China and France stressed the importance of high-level exchanges and strategic dialogue, as well as high-level economic and financial dialogue and high-level cultural exchange mechanisms for the development of bilateral cooperation," the statement read.
Finally, Beijing and Paris said in a joint statement on Friday that they support all efforts aiming to restore peace to Ukraine based on international law.
"Both sides support any effort to return peace to Ukraine on the basis of international law and the goals and principles of the UN Charter," the statement said.
