China on Thursday called on all states to make joint efforts to advance the international disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation process.

Wang Qun, the Chinese ambassador for disarmament affairs, made the appeal in a speech delivered at the General Debate of the First Committee of the 65th Session of the UN General Assembly.

"We welcome the positive progress that has been made in the international arms control and disarmament field since the beginning of this year. To advance the international disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation process, joint and unremitting efforts are called for on the part of the entire international community," Wang said.

He said that China welcomes the recent signing of a new bilateral nuclear disarmament treaty between the United States and the Russian Federation, and wishes to see the early ratification of the treaty.

"In the meantime, we hope that they, as countries with largest nuclear arsenals and special and primary responsibility for nuclear disarmament, will continue to make drastic and substantive reductions in their nuclear arsenals, so as to create the necessary conditions for the ultimate realization of complete and thorough nuclear disarmament," he said.

"When conditions are ripe, other nuclear-weapon states should also join the multilateral negotiations on nuclear disarmament," he added.

On issues concerning nuclear non-proliferation, Wang urged the international community to work to safeguard the international nuclear non-proliferation regime and strengthen the safeguards function of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

"It is essential that all states strictly fulfill their non- proliferation obligations and strengthen their export control systems," he said. "Practices of utilizationism and double standards should be discarded."

The ambassador stressed that China wishes to see peaceful solution to regional nuclear issues through dialogues and negotiations, and hopes that the six-party talks on the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula could be resumed and the dialogue between Iran and E3+3 -- the United States, Russia, Britain, China, France and Germany -- could be restarted at an early date.