UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- Biosecurity knows no borders and has an impact on the common interests of mankind as a whole, a Chinese envoy said on Wednesday, adding China firmly opposes the development, stockpiling or use of biological weapons by any country under any circumstances.
The UN Security Council Wednesday failed to adopt a draft resolution put forth by Russia to set up a commission consisting of all members of the council to investigate its complaint about the non-compliance with the obligations under the Biological Weapons Convention.
Since March, Russia has repeatedly lodged allegations to the Security Council that the United States is suspected of conducting bio-miliary activities in Ukraine, which China is gravely concerned about, Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, said in his explanatory remarks after voting in favor of the draft resolution.
China believes that any evidence or clues related to compliance with the Biological Weapons Convention should receive full attention from the international community and "deserve thorough and to-the-point responses and clarifications by the parties concerned," he said.
A fair and transparent investigation by the Security Council can effectively address compliance concerns and help uphold the authority and effectiveness of the Biological Weapons Convention, he noted.
China always stands for the complete prohibition and elimination of all weapons of mass destruction, including biological weapons, the envoy said.
Geng expressed the hope that all state-signatories will actively and constructively participate in the 9th review conference on the Biological Weapons Convention scheduled to be held later, and resume as soon as possible negotiations on the verification protocol that have been stalled for more than 20 years.
He also called on all parties to promote the early establishment of a multilateral verification mechanism, further enhance global biosecurity governance, and lift the level of global biosecurity. Enditem
