China aims to join arms treaty as soon as possible

China wants to join as soon as possible an international arms treaty that the United States has spurned, the Foreign Ministry said on Saturday, adding it was China’s responsibility to take part as a member of the international community.

Speaking at the United Nations on Friday, the Chinese government’s top diplomat State Councillor Wang Yi said China has initiated domestic legal procedures to join the Arms Trade Treaty.

China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement following Wang’s announcement that the country was striving to join the treaty “as soon as possible”. This is an important action for China to actively participate in the governance of the global arms trade governance and reflects China’s determination to support multilateralism, it said.

The International Arms Trade Treaty entered into force on December 24, 2014. As of January 2019, the document was signed by 130 states, 100 ratified, including all members of the European Union. US President Donald Trump said the United States would never ratify the treaty.