Preamble

Commemoration of victory, opposition to war and invocation for peace were the main theme played fortissimo during the year of 2015 in which global landscape was sophisticated.

The year 2015 marked the 70th anniversary of World Anti-Fascist War, Chinese People's Victory against Japanese Aggression and the founding of the United Nations. The UN held an assembly to commemorate this year and countries all over the world echoed in various celebrations for victory to express their kind wishes for peace and prosperity. On September 3rd, China held a conference to commemorate this 70th anniversary of World Anti-Fascist War and Chinese People's War against Japanese Aggression in Beijing with a grand military parade. Its President Xi Jinping made an important speech which emphasized efforts to heed the lessons of history, pay tribute to forerunners who dedicated themselves in the war, cherish peace and embark on a journey toward a bright future, which greatly encouraged the Chinese people and resonated with the fervent hope for peace around the globe.

This year also marked the centenary of the first large-scale use of chemical weapons in human history. On April 21st, at a special meeting was held by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons（OPCW）and its States Parties in Ieper, Belgium-the place where chemical weapons were first used in large scale-to review and reflect on the devastating impacts brought by chemical weapons as well as the arduous efforts made to eliminate them, honor the memory of their victims and issued the Ieper Declaration to reaffirm the determination to completely eliminate chemical weapons for the sake of all mankind, condemn in the strongest possible terms their use under any circumstances by anyone or any organization and emphasize that achievements in the chemical sciences shall only be used for the benefit of human beings.

The world has never stopped its effort to thoroughly eliminate threats posed by chemical weapons. In 2015, Myanmar and Angola officially acceded to the Chemical Weapons Convention（CWC）, adding the number of CWC States Parties to 192 thus raising its popularity. 91.41% of global inventory of chemical weapons were completely destructed. Inspection on CWC implementation was enhanced by OPCW who performed 356 on-site inspections within the year, of which 115 were to address facilities for chemical weapons destruction; the rest 241 inspections were done in industrial facilities, maintaining the highest frequency of such inspection. OPCW continued to focus its international cooperation and protection schemes on assisting States Parties to implement the Convention and promote the development of chemical economy and technology. To facilitate the fulfillment of purposes and objectives of the Convention, the 20th Conference of the States Parties decided to designate April 29th as the“OPCW Day”; recognize the Hague Ethical Guidelines as“elements for ethical codes related to the practice of chemistry under the Convention”; establish an Advisory Board on Education and Outreach so as to form extensive consensus within the international community through public campaigns and to consolidate efforts and progress made by the human society regarding the elimination of chemical weapons. At the same time, however, the year 2015 also witnessed sophisticated international security landscape which was everchanging. Syria once again became the center of global attention with frequent news on the use of chemical weapons in armed conflicts. The UN Security Council endorsed its Resolution 2235 on August 7th with a decision to establish an OPCW-UN joint investigation mechanism on the use of chemicals, including chlorine gas, as weapons in attacks in Syria. There is still a long way to go in eliminating chemical weapons and safeguarding world peace.

The Chinese people have always loved peace and cherished it even more after suffering years of wars. As one of the active players in global governance, China has undertaken its due responsibilities, facilitated the formation of a new type of international relations based on win-win cooperation and stressed the creation of the community of shared destiny. In 2015, State Councilor Yang Jiechi met OPCW Director-General Ahmet Üzümcü, during which Yang reaffirmed China's position to support CWC purposes and objectives and expressed that China prioritized the role played by the Convention with serious fulfillment of its obligations. As one of the victims of Japanese chemical weapons, China was active in facilitating the destruction of Japanese Abandoned Chemical Weapons in China and provided assistance to the Japanese government when necessary; of all developing countries, China has the most challenging implementation obligations, with declared industrial facilities accounting for 1/4 of the total declared by all States Parties. In 2015, it received 36 OPCW inspections, increasing the accumulated number to a total of 429 after CWC entered into effect. During each inspection, governments at both central and local levels together with inspected enterprises provided positive cooperation and well-arranged logistics to ensure smooth inspection. All implementing bodies attached great importance to implementation and management of controlled chemicals through strict source control, special monitoring and examination and business self-discipline to lay solid foundation for implementation，improve capacities in controlled chemicals management and punish improper production, operation and uses. Implementing bodies also worked closely to intensify and innovate publication and education to improve transparency. The National Office for the Implementation of Chemical Weapons Convention（NOI）worked with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs（MFA）and the Ministry of National Defense（MND）in the editing and publication of the Report on China's Efforts to Implement the Chemical Weapons Convention（2014）, which raised great attention; the Recovered Clean Ground - Exhibition on the Disposal of Chemical Weapons Abandoned by Japan in China co-organized by MFA and MND attracted thousands of visitors. China prioritizes international cooperation on implementation of the Convention as well as its articles on assistance. In 2015, China and OPCW jointly held the 13th Regional Meeting of National Authorities of States Parties in Asia and the 1st Regional Meeting on Education and Outreach for States Parties in Asia in Beijing and collaborated with military institutes in organizing the implementation trainings and exchanges, which proved to be constructive and contributive in effective CWC implementation and was highly appraised of by the international community.

China is now a firm advocator and powerful guard of world peace. It is willing to join hands with other countries to promote full, effective implementation of the Convention and contribute to a world that is free of chemical weapons and in which achievements in the chemical sciences are all in the benefit of human beings.

Minister of Industry and Information Technology

Miao Wei

December 30,2016