Mr. Chair,

The Chinese delegation welcomes your chairmanship of this meeting, and appreciates the contributions you have made to advancing the work of the Working Group since assuming the chairmanship. The Chinese delegation will fully support the work of the Chair, and work with all parties to promote positive outcomes from this meeting.

The Chinese delegation listened carefully to the report delivered by the Executive Secretary Dr. Robert Floyd. China supports the statement delivered by the Group of 77 and China.

Mr. Chair,

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the opening for signature of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, as well as the 30th anniversary of China’s announcement of its moratorium on nuclear testing. Over the past three decades of profound changes in the international landscape, China has consistently and firmly supported the Treaty’s object and purpose, has faithfully observed its moratorium on nuclear testing, has never engaged in any activities inconsistent with the Treaty, and has worked to uphold the global nuclear-test-ban consensus.

China has on many occasions elaborated on its firm position regarding the United States’ allegations of so-called secret nuclear tests. I would like to reiterate that China has consistently and firmly supported the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty’s object and purpose, faithfully observed its moratorium on nuclear testing, and has never engaged in any activities inconsistent with the Treaty. China attaches great importance to preparations for the implementation of the Treaty, actively advances the certification of stations in China and the transmission of data to the Provisional Technical Secretariat, and has always maintained transparency with the CTBTO and its Member States. There is no issue of a lack of transparency as alleged by the United States.

Regarding some auxiliary seismic stations in China mentioned by the United States, they were indeed established through China-U.S. cooperation, and data have continuously been transmitted to the United States in an open and transparent manner. The United States’ hype about “secret nuclear tests” is nothing but an attempt to evade its international arms control obligations by smearing other countries and manufacture a pretext for its own potential resumption of nuclear testing. Such actions seriously damage its own international credibility and raise further questions about the political sincerity of the United States in participating in the nuclear arms control process.

The international community is deeply concerned about the negative developments in the United States’ compliance with its commitment to the "moratorium on nuclear testing.". As the country possessing the largest and most advanced nuclear arsenal and having conducted the greatest number of nuclear tests, the United States has openly stated that it intends to resume nuclear testing, which may soon become a reality. It is therefore clear that the U.S. accusations against other countries on the issue of nuclear testing are hypocritical. The international community should remain vigilant against the possibility that the United States may use this as a pretext to resume nuclear explosive testing.

China calls on the United States to immediately cease its irresponsible practice of “the thief crying ‘Stop thief’,” and urges the United States to faithfully abide by the Treaty and its moratorium on nuclear testing, make a clear commitment not to resume nuclear explosive tests, and take concrete actions to uphold the international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime.

As one of the earliest signatories of the Treaty, China actively advances preparations for implementing the Treaty domestically, supports the early entry into force of the Treaty and all international efforts to promote its entry into force, participates in successive Conferences on Facilitating Entry into Force of the CTBT, and supports capacity building in developing countries, making important contributions to upholding the universality and authority of the Treaty.

In recent years, China has actively supported the development of the Treaty’s verification regime, with monitoring stations within China passing certification and acceptance in batches. At present, 10 International Monitoring System stations and one radionuclide laboratory have been established in China, and many monitoring stations have completed certification and acceptance and commenced data transmission. In 2025, the Kunming infrasound station completed its certification, while the Shanghai and Xi'an auxiliary seismic stations commenced the certification process and have been progressing in an orderly manner.

China has co-hosted three National Data Centre Seminars in China with the Provisional Technical Secretariat, promoting exchanges among National Data Centres of different countries and enhancing capacity building for developing countries to fulfill their obligations under the Treaty. China has also fully participated in negotiations on guidance documents, including the operational manuals for the International Monitoring System, the International Data Centre, and On-Site Inspection, translating its accumulated technical expertise and practical experience into concrete actions to enhance the representativeness and effectiveness of international mechanisms.

China advocates that artificial intelligence be developed for the greater good, in an inclusive and universally beneficial manner, and in a safe and controllable way. China believes that the introduction of artificial intelligence into the development of the verification regime should maintain a high level of transparency and be authorized by the Preparatory Commission on a case-by-case basis. At the same time, artificial intelligence cannot replace human analysis. A high level of risk awareness must be maintained, and concrete measures should be taken to prevent misuse.

Mr. Chair,

As the second-largest contributor to the budget of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, China undertakes one-fifth of the Commission’s budget and has consistently paid its assessed contributions in full and on time. The United States, the largest contributor to the Treaty Organization, has failed to pay its assessed contribution for 2025, which is the primary cause of the liquidity crisis facing the Treaty Organization. China urges the United States to faithfully fulfill its financial obligations and pay its assessed contributions in full.

China advocates that the Provisional Technical Secretariat, within the mandate of the Preparatory Commission, should continue to develop its work plan following the principles of “provisional operation” and practical, reasonable approaches. Efforts should be balanced among the three pillars of the verification regime, the International Data Centre, the International Monitoring System, and On-Site Inspection, while maintaining a real-zero-growth budget and continuing to strengthen capacity-building programs for developing countries.

Mr. Chair,

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty carries the important mission of reducing the risk of war and promoting world peace. China has consistently advocated for the comprehensive prohibition and total destruction of nuclear weapons, adheres to the policy of no-first-use of nuclear weapons, and is unequivocally committed not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon States or nuclear-weapon-free zones unconditionally. China firmly supports the international arms control treaty regime.

China is willing to work with all parties to uphold the authority of the Treaty, safeguard the international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime, and make unremitting efforts to build a world of lasting peace and common security.

Finally, I wish this Working Group B a success.

Thanks, Mr. Chair.