First Meeting of the China-Russia 'Space Peaceful Use Consultation Council' Held... "Opposing the Space Arms Race"

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

Authorities from China and Russia held the first consultation meeting on the theme of 'peaceful use of outer space.' This meeting is interpreted as being held in line with the joint statement issued after the Beijing summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in May, which included opposition to the arms race in outer space.

According to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 9th, Ma Xinmin, Director-General of the Treaty and Law Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, held the first 'China-Russia Consultation on the Peaceful Use of Outer Space' in Moscow, Russia, the previous day, exchanging views with Sergey Sergeyevich Belousko, Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Special Representative for International Cooperation on the Peaceful Use of Outer Space.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the two officials "exchanged views on matters of common interest regarding the peaceful use of outer space," but did not disclose specific details of the consultation. The Ministry also reported that on the 7th, Ma Xinmin met in Moscow with Maxim Vyacheslavovich Mushkin, Director of the Legal Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to exchange opinions.

This consultation meeting was held in accordance with the joint statement issued after the Beijing summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in May. At that time, the two leaders stated, "Both countries oppose any individual nation using outer space for armed confrontation attempts, oppose security policies and activities aimed at securing military superiority, or designating outer space as an 'operational theater.'"

The two leaders also agreed on the need to promptly initiate negotiations on a legally binding multilateral document based on the draft Treaty on the Prevention of the Placement of Weapons in Outer Space, the Threat or Use of Force against Outer Space Objects (PPWT), and to prevent the arms race and weaponization in outer space.