Endeavoring and Diligent in CWC Implementation

Huai Jinpeng, Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology

（December 9,2016）

I want to express three points of view.

Ⅰ Remarkable results on implementation, building up an image of a responsible nation

Since the Chemical Weapons Convention（hereinafter referred to as“CWC”）came into force in 1997, China has established complete regulations and multi-layered working system for implementation under the guidance of the Party Central Committee and the State Council. We strictly fulfilled the obligations of declaration and accepting international inspection; strictly strengthened management on controlled chemicals; assisted and supervised Japan in destruction of chemical weapons abandoned by Japan（JACW）in China; and actively engaged in international communication and cooperation on CWC implementation and made outstanding contributions for realizing objectives and goals of the CWC. In recent 5 years, especially in 2016, the implementation authorities at all levels in our country worked in unity and cooperation with other relevant departments, overcame many difficulties, proactively made plans, and enhanced organizational collaboration, to fully promote the implementation work. All tasks have been successfully completed. We have also made some breakthroughs in five aspects through grasping the priorities, sol-ving the difficulties and addressing the weak links.

Firstly, the international position and role of China in terms of implementation has remarkably improved. As an important country with industrial facilities accounting for a quarter of the world and with strong chemical industry, China earnestly implements the CWC obligations and has become an model for international-industrial implementation. We made declarations that are twice a year on time; successfully passed 136 on-site inspections on our civil chemical industry by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons（hereinafter referred to as“OPCW”）, of which 27 happened in this year; annually approved 600 import and export applications for chemicals listed on CWC Schedules, with no breaching or proliferation event occurred; actively supported the work of OPCW, promoted international communication and collaboration on implementation, and participated in the settlement of some hotspot issues such as Syria. China plays an important role as a key responsible developing country, and has been praised by the world communities. The Director-General of OPCW stated that China was on top among the States Parties that strictly implement the CWC.

Secondly, the construction of regulations and systems for implementation has made progress. We have been steadily promoting the development of laws and regulations in a pragmatic manner, the revision work for Rules of Management Regulations for Controlled Chemicals has been already scheduled in the legislation work plan of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology（MIIT）. The drafting work has already finished after three years hardworking, now we are on the stage of opinion solicitation. The policy interpretation for import of controlled chemicals in Shanghai Free Trade Zone has been issued and it helps to remove policy obstacles for companies in special customs regions that need import controlled chemicals. The development of internal systems has been strengthened. A reporting system for important work was established. An awarding and praising mechanism for annual and special advanced collectives and individuals has been adopted. From this year, we will award companies that pass OPCW inspections with certificates, and will also issue certificates to companies that had passed international inspections since MIIT was established. This measure enhanced the sense of honor and cohesive force among the implementation staff, and also motivated local units'enthusiasm for implementation work.

Thirdly, the level of informatization for implementation has been further improved. In order to reduce the burden caused by data reporting for companies, and improve the quality and efficiency of national declaration, NCIO developed a new online declaration system, which was on test in 2015, and started full operation in this year. It realizes online real-time reporting and application for companies and online real-time review and approval for authorities at different levels, optimizes the work procedures, and improves work quality and efficiency, providing an easier way of data reporting for companies and more efficient and timely approach of supervision, review and approval for authorities. Therefore, companies and authorities at all levels.

Fourthly, implementation supervision and development promotion become more coordinated. We have practically implemented the requirements proposed by the State Council on administration simplification, combination of decentralization and management, and service optimization by changing the long-term supervision strategy. We are able to keep pace with new trends of development, transformation and upgrading, relocation as well as safety and environmental protection requirements of the chemical industry. We can better balance the relationship between implementation risks and development needs in the process of approving new construction, reconstruction, and expansion projects. We strictly follow the standards and improve efficiency in order to shorten the review and approval period and 122 such projects have been approved. We have strengthened supervision in the course and afterwards. We have organized special inspections against noticeable problems in the recent three consecutive years, guiding and helping many companies to solve problems and difficulties in implementation, having promoted improvement in companies'products, technologies and management, and raised the awareness and strengthened the capability of local authorities on supervision.

Fifthly, the influence of implementation has been enlarged with publicity. In face of the reality that the implementation scope has been getting wider, we changed the traditional working method of implementation, which was“self-enclosure”and“doing without saying”. Now we pay more attention to publicity-publicity and promotion. A publicity plan will be made every year, and multi-leveled publicity on implementation, which is jointly initiated by the ministerial and provincial authorities, will be carried out by taking the effective date of CWC and the OPCW Day as the basis. We produced and published the Annual Report on Chemical Weapons Convention Implementation by China; organized themed exhibitions and mobile exhibitions regarding implementation to enterprises; printed and distributed brochures and posters on implementation; further expanded promotion by using traditional media such as newspaper and new media such as the Internet, and set up a special column on the official website of MIIT. With the continuous publicity in years, the knowledge of the society and the awareness of enterprises on implementation have been improved significantly, offering more understanding and support to the CWC implementation work.

All the above achievements are the result of guidance from the Party Central Committee and the State Council, are the result of strong support from the relevant departments of the State Council and local governments, and of hard working from comrades of implementation authorities at all levels. On behalf of MIIT, I would like to express my sincere thanks to all of you！

Ⅱ Seize the opportunities and meet the challenges by taking high sense of political responsibility

Due to unremitting efforts made by international communities in the past 20 years, a worldfree of chemical weapons is coming to us, but the path for pursuing peace has never been easy, there exist both opportunities and challenges for implementing the CWC. We shall carefully analyze and deeply understand the situation and tasks we are facing, correctly understand the important meaning of implementation to safeguarding world peace and national security. We shall strengthen the sense of urgency, responsibility and mission when performing the implementation work.

The CWC is the first international convention in the field of arms control and disarmament that requires comprehensively prohibition and completely destruction of an entire class of mass-destruction weapons in our history with strict verification mechanism. It is also the first international convention with impacts on industrial facilities much greater than that on military facilities from breadth, depth, and duration. The above characteristics have decided that changes in political, economic, military and diplomatic situations, as well as development of science and technology and the chemical industry will have noticeable or subtle influence on the implementation.

Globally, the world is moving further toward multi-polarization and economic globalization; cultural diversity and social informatization are carrying forward; the global governance system is going through an in-depth reform;the world economy has already survived from the critical juncture of interna tional financial crisis, and come back to the stable and resuscitative track, generally on the stage of recovering; and the theme of the times-peace and development has not changed. However, the geopolitical relation is complex and changeable; regional turbulences happen occasionally; and traditional and non-traditional security threats are intertwined. The growth momentum from last round of scientific and technical evolution has gradually decreased, and the new round of scientific and industrial revolution has just started. Economic globalization is suffering setbacks as protectionism and inward-looking trends are on the rise. The global economy is facing multiple risks and challenges such as weak growth momentum, weak demand, unstable financial market, and sluggish international trade and investment. There are more unstable and uncertain factors in the international environment. All above-mentioned factors affect the progress and future trend of the achievement of CWC objectives and goals. In terms of CWC implementation, the work of prohibition of chemical weapons worldwide has made great achievements during the past nearly 20 years since the Convention came into force. 192 countries have become the States Parties,93% stockpiled chemical weapons have been already destructed, and the idea of prohibition of chemical weapons has won popular support. Yet, it's a long hard road to prevent the resurgence of chemical weapons as there are still 4 countries having not joined the CWC; the destruction of stockpiled chemical weapons, chemical weapons abandoned by Japan in China, and old chemical weapons still need more efforts; and some new chemical weapons still can be found in local warfare. Moreover, regional turbulences in Syria and other countries that were caused by geopolitics and neo-interventionism are more conspicuous; the struggle between power politics and common development is very intense; provisions that promote trade and common development on chemical products and technical equipment among States Parties are hard to perform; and there are big challenges in implementing the Convention in an overall and balanced way. All of these make it more difficult and complex for the implementation work.

After years of rapid development, China is generally provided with abundant material foundation, is secure and stable, and people are living and working in peace and contentment. But the actual threat to our country's security is on the rise. New situations and characteristics have emerged on both external and internal security, proposing new and higher requirements to implementation and controlled chemicals management that are related with national security. Chinese economy has stepped into a“new normal”, and its development is still in a period with important strategic opportunities. But we still face serious challenges including increased contradictions and risks, and some long-term accumulated problems are emerging gradually. The economic growth rate is changing, structural adjustment has brought pains, and new growth drivers are taking place of the old ones but still coexist. The slowdown of the chemical industry, sluggish growth, fierce market competition and company operation in difficulty, all affect companies'enthusiasm for investing technology and management, strictly operating in accordance with laws and regulations, and fulfilling the CWC obligations. As a main country that promises to implement the CWC, China has established a nationwide implementation working system, including the separate duty and coordination among relevant departments, and joint action by the ministerial and provincial authorities. We have gained rich experience, but the task of declaration and accepting OPCW on-site inspection is still heavy and more and more difficult. Besides, the nonproliferation situation is getting more serious and complex. The transformation and upgrading of the chemical industry, the higher standard for security and environment protection together with the development of industrial parks and relocation, can help reduce the number of controlled chemicals companies and radically lower the implementation risk. But the large base, imbalanced regional distribution, and low industrial concentration of the controlled chemicals industry are still not changed fundamentally. The contradiction between implementation and development still remains. In particular, low technology, extensive operation management and weak innovation capability are still serious problems faced by many small and medium controlled chemicals companies. Some companies have weak sense of abidance by laws and regulations, and violation happens from time to time, which adds difficulties for management. The workload for the authorities of industry and information technology at all levels nationwide is heavy, which includes ensuring steady growth, restructuring, bringing benefits to people, and preventing risks, and the supervision capability of responsible departments in some regions needs to be enhanced.

In face of the new situation that both opportunities and challenges are coexisting in CWC implementation, all responsible departments at all levels shall further strengthen their awareness of the importance and urgency of the implementation work. It is necessary to deeply recognize that CWC implementation is not only the demand for maintaining world peace, but also the demand for safeguarding national security, stabilizing society and creating a comfortable and happy living environment for the public. It is necessary to deeply recognize that CWC implementation is a solemn commitment made by China to the international communities, and a way to maintain the image of our country as a great responsible country. It is necessary to deeply recognize that the Convention is an international norm that all States Parties need to abide by not only in the military field but also in the industrial field. It is a necessary for our country to realize green and healthy sustainable develop ment, to integrate into the economic globalization, to participate in international labor division and trade, as well as the development of the“Going Out”policy and the“Belt and Road”initiative. We shall further strengthen the sense of urgency and sense of mission, hold strong confidence, seize opportunities, and effectively deal with various risks and challenges by considering the general situation, considering the interests of national politics, economy and diplomacy, focusing on the target and mission of developing industry and information technology, and maintaining a high sense of responsibility for the interests of our country and people.

Ⅲ Comprehensively performall implementation work with strenuous spirit

The year of 2017 is the 20th anniversary of the CWC, and also an important year for realizing economic growth with steady steps under the new normal. In order to better perform the implementation work, it is requested to hold high the great flag of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, comprehensively put into practice the spirits of the 18th CPC National Congress, the Third, the Fourth, the Fifth and the Sixth Plenary Sessions of the 18th CPC Central Committee, deeply implement the spirits of the series of important speeches by General Secretary Xi Jinping, implement the overall national safety concept, coordinate both the domestic and international situations as well as development and safety, take the strict implementation of CWC obligations as the mainline, strengthen the management on controlled chemicals, and the development of laws and regulations on implementation, enhance publicity, training and team construction as well as international communication and cooperation, to make progress with innovation, to work with solid foundation, to ensure the completion of various implementation tasks, and meanwhile, to maintain the image of a great responsible country.

As for the work next year, Comrade Chunquan has made a comprehensive deployment in the report, and here, I want to emphasize several requirements.

Firstly, it is requested to strengthen the organizing and leading work for the implementation. To fulfill the implementation obligations is a governmental act. CWC implementation is with high political sensibility and related to diplomacy and foreign affairs of various departments and regions inside and outside our country. As for the authorities of industry and information technology, it is also industrial management work that is closely related to industrial production and operation and involves many enterprises and fields. Particularly, the on-site inspection by OPCW, which is sudden, random, mandatory and highly time-bound, is a comprehensive test on the leadership, coordination and crisis addressing capabilities of governments at all levels. The NCIO shall practically fulfill its duty in organizing and coordinating the national implementation work for prohibition of chemical weapons, strengthen cooperation among departments, and improve the joint action between the ministerial and provincial authorities. During the CWC implementation, enterprises are the subject, and the local is a priority. All local authorities shall practically strengthen their organization and leadership, establish valid working mechanisms, clearly define the division of duties of various departments, better the emergency measures, and improve the response capacity.

Secondly, it is requested to ensure that the on-site inspection is absolutely safe. Passing the OPCW on-site inspection is a benchmark for the fulfillment of CWC obligations by the States Parties, and the declaration made by the state to the OPCW based on the data reported from companies is regarded as the main basis for the on-site inspection. The authorities at all levels must pay high attention to declaration and inspection, and shall trace accountability for the occurrence of major issues that have damaged the national interests and image. It is requested to carefully organize and guide companies to truthfully complete the data declaration within the schedule, and meanwhile, carefully review and verify the data, guarantee its authenticity, improve the correctness, and prevent the occurrence of serious errors, so as to reduce the risk factors affecting the on-site inspection. Moreover, it is also requested to seriously deal with the daily work, preparation work and reception work in accepting on-site inspection. During the inspection, it is requested to strictly follow the disciplines for foreign affairs, maintain our national image and companies' interests, and ensure that the on-site inspection operates orderly and successfully, with no problems in logistics and security.

Thirdly, it is requested to practically strengthen the management on controlled chemicals. In order to ensure the effective performance of CWC obligations, China has implemented strict management regulations on controlled chemicals, and authorities of industry and information technology at all levels have respectively undertaken the responsibilities to supervise controlled chemicals in accordance with laws. The authorities shall handle well the relation between implementation and development, and the relation between supervision and service, carefully conduct the review and approval work related to new, changed and expansionary production, operation and use, as well as import and export, and also strengthen source management and control. Meanwhile, it is also requested to strengthen supervision and examination, innovate and implement the supervision measures during and after the event, deal with the illegal behaviors in accordance with laws, and ensure the legal production, operation and usage of controlled chemicals, without any proliferation incidents on controlled chemicals.

Fourthly, it is requested to continuously improve the implementation awareness of the society. As the CWC implementation involves many stakeholders, its foundation and precondition are to know, understand, and follow the Convention, regulations and laws. One of the main barriers that affects the Chinese companies in fulfilling the obligations conscientiously and restricts the government to carry out the implementation work is the low understanding of the CWC implementation, which is also a common issue for the international implementation community. For this reason, the OPCW keeps promotion by taking education and outreach enhancement, and improvement of the understanding of the implementation consensus of the society as a priority, and inputting lots of resources to the work. The authorities shall strengthen their awareness of publicity, regard publicity as a long-term fundamental work for CWC implementation, create new public communication ideas and enrich promotion methods by considering their local conditions and seizing the opportunities of the 20th anniversary of the CWC next year and the International OPCW Day, to build a good atmosphere for the entire society where people can conscientiously fulfill the obligations, and legally produce, operate and use controlled chemicals.

Fifthly, it is requested to ensure a stable and efficient working system for the implementation. Since the Convention is permanently valid, its implementation will be long-term and highly professional. Therefore, clearly defined working responsibilities, a sound working system and a stable officer team are the necessities and basic guarantees for the implementation work. In order to adapt to the requirements of new situations and new tasks for CWC implementation, it is requested to further improve the working system, strengthen the organizational building of the authorities, improve the interactive mechanism between implementation businesses and industry associations, as well as en hance the building of a supporting platform for the participation of academic and research institutions and other social organizations. For strengthening the building of the implementation officer team, it is requested to strengthen the building of an officer team from national implementation authorities, an implementation expert team, and a backup talent team for international staff. The authorities should care about the growth of the implementation officers, help them overcome difficulties in work and life, and mobilize their enthusiasm in settling down in and doing well the implementation work. All officers from the implementation authorities nationwide shall keep learning, improve performance capacity, perform official duties honestly and serve the people.

Dear comrades, CWC implementation is a tough mission with heavy responsibility and great honor. We should stick together around the Party Central Committee that taking Comrade Xi Jinping as the core, gather strength, make endeavors, and work hard to make new progresses in the implementation, and make new contributions to world peace, national security, and the achievement of the“Two Centenary”goals.