China and Russia will submit a joint proposal in Geneva next month to ban the deployment of weapons in outer space, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said yesterday.
Jiang expressed China's desire for the peaceful exploration of space at a ministry press briefing. "We support and actively promote negotiations at the Geneva conference for an international legal framework on preventing an arms race in outer space," Jiang said.
Valery Loshchinin, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations-sponsored Conference on Disarmament, said the draft treaty will be presented to the 65-member forum on Feb 12.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is expected to address the Geneva forum, which constitutes the world's main disarmament negotiating body.
"China has never participated in and will never participate in an outer space arms race," Jiang said. China and Russia have presented several working papers on preventing an arms race in outer space over the past six years.
Su Hao, an expert on arms control at the China Foreign Affairs University, said: "China and Russia's proposal is beneficial for world peace."
A "certain" superpower's strategy to deploy weapon systems in outer space threatens the security of other countries including China and Russia, he said.
"What China and Russia are doing is trying to prevent that. We should maintain the peace and tranquility of outer space, he said. "It's an international consensus."
When asked about China's stance on UN Security Council reform, Jiang said there was no change in China's attitude.
"We always support developing countries to play large roles in the UN, including the Security Council," Jiang said.
Developing countries, especially those from the African continent, should be better represented on the council, she said.
Questions:
1. Which two countries will submit a joint proposal in Geneva next month to ban the deployment of weapons in outer space?
2. The conference which serves as the world's main disarmament negotiating body has how many members attending the forum on Feb 12 in Geneva?
3.What did Su Hao say about the Chinese/Russian proposal?
Answers:
1.China and Russia.
2.65.
3.It is beneficial for world peace.
（英语点津 Celene 编辑）
About the broadcaster:
Brendan joined The China Daily in 2007 as a language polisher in the Language Tips Department, where he writes a regular column for Chinese English Language learners, reads audio news for listeners and anchors the weekly video news in addition to assisting with on location stories. Elsewhere he writes Op’Ed pieces with a China focus that feature in the Daily’s Website opinion section.
He received his B.A. and Post Grad Dip from Curtin University in 1997 and his Masters in Community Development and Management from Charles Darwin University in 2003. He has taught in Japan, England, Australia and most recently China. His articles have featured in the Bangkok Post, The Taipei Times, The Asia News Network and in-flight magazines.
