Joint Statement by the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China on International Relations Entering a New Era and Global Sustainable Development

President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, at the invitation of the President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping, paid a visit to China on February 4, 2022. The heads of state held talks in Beijing and took part in the opening ceremony of the XXIV Winter Olympic Games.

The Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China, hereinafter referred to as the Parties, declare the following.

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The parties note that the denunciation of a number of important international agreements in the field of arms control by the United States has an extremely negative impact on international and regional security and stability. The parties express concern about the advancement of US plans to develop global missile defense and deploy its elements in various regions of the world, combined with building up the potential of high-precision non-nuclear weapons for disarming strikes and solving other strategic tasks.

The Parties emphasize the importance of the use of outer space for peaceful purposes, strongly support the central role of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space in promoting international cooperation, maintaining and developing international space law and regulation in the field of space activities. Russia and China will continue to build up cooperation on such topics of mutual interest as the long-term sustainability of space activities and the exploration and use of outer space resources.

The parties oppose the attempts of individual states to turn outer space into an arena of armed confrontation, reiterate their intention to make all necessary efforts to prevent the weaponization of outer space and an arms race in outer space. They will oppose activities aimed at achieving military superiority in space and using it for combat operations.

The Parties reiterate the need to start negotiations as soon as possible in order to conclude a legally binding multilateral document based on the Russian-Chinese draft treaty on the prevention of the placement of weapons in outer space, the use of force or the threat of force against space objects, which would provide a foundation – solid and reliable guarantees for the prevention of an arms race and the weaponization of outer space.

Russia and China emphasize that appropriate transparency and confidence-building measures, including an international initiative/political commitment to not be the first to place weapons in outer space, can also contribute to the goal of preventing an arms race in outer space, however, such measures should complement, but not as a substitute for an effective legally binding regime governing outer space activities.

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Joint Statement of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China on the International Relations Entering a New Era and the Global Sustainable Development – February 4, 2022
Source: http://en.kremlin.ru/supplement/5770

TREATY ON THE PREVENTION OF THE PLACEMENT OF WEAPONS IN OUTER SPACE
https://peaceinspace.com/treaty/