China warns Cold War mentality and double standards are fueling nuclear arms race

 The world's nuclear powers are drifting toward a dangerous confrontation as arms control mechanisms weaken and the threat of nuclear war grows, Chinese disarmament envoy Li Chijiang told the UN.

 “The Cold War mentality is the primary source of deterioration of the international strategic security environment,” Li said on Friday, urging nuclear-armed states to abandon strategies based on winning nuclear wars and launching first strikes.

Without naming the US, the envoy argued that the country with the world's largest nuclear arsenal must make substantial cuts rather than pursue ever more powerful nuclear deterrence capabilities.

Li also warned against moves in Japan to reconsider its Three Non-Nuclear Principles, which prohibit possessing, producing or allowing nuclear weapons on Japanese territory.

China reaffirmed its commitment to never using nuclear weapons first, called for continued compliance with nuclear testing moratoriums and insisted that developing countries must retain the right to peaceful nuclear energy.