China will work with the international community to eliminate
illegal trade in small arms and light weapons, said Vice Foreign
Minister Qiao
Zonghuai at Tuesday's opening ceremony of a UN workshop under
way in Beijing.
The three-day United Nations Workshop on Small Arms and Light
Weapons is organized by the Regional Center for Peace and
Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific of the Department for
Disarmament Affairs. About 70 government officials and scholars
from more than 30 countries and another 10 international, regional
and nongovernmental organizations are attending.
Participants are discussing the issues and challenges of
fighting the illegal trade in small arms, with a special focus on
Central Asia and South-East Asia.
Qiao noted that both traditional and non-traditional threats to
global security still exist, and the harm caused by illegal sales
of small arms such as machine guns, rifles, grenades and pistols,
should not be ignored.
He expressed China's appreciation for the efforts made by the
international community in recent years to combat the illicit trade
in small arms, saying that the UN should continue to play a leading
role in this process and all countries should strengthen
coordination and cooperation in their policing and customs.
Nobuyasu Abe, United Nations undersecretary-general for
disarmament affairs, also spoke at the opening ceremony.
(Xinhua News Agency April 20, 2005)