China has called on the United States and Russia to make drastic cuts in their nuclear arsenals, saying countries with atomic weapons should pledge not to be the first to use them.

A senior Chinese diplomat has also told a nuclear meeting in Vienna that the development of missile defence systems which disrupt the global strategic balance should also be abandoned.

Under a treaty enforced in February 2011, Washington and Moscow are to limit the number of operationally deployed nuclear warheads to 1,550.

But the two powers still hold most of the world’s nuclear arms, a fact stressed by the Chinese representative on the opening day of a 2 week meeting in Vienna to discuss the 1970 nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Original: http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2012-05-01/china-urges-the-us-and-russia-to-cut-nuclear-arsenals/935918