Ministry of Foreign Affairs： The unbridled export of light and small arms and ammunition in the United States seriously threatens peace.

　　Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, February 23rd (Reporter Dong Xue, Ma Zhuoyan) Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Wang Wenbin said on the 23rd that the United States has always been lax in the management of light and small arms and ammunition, and its export has been unscrupulous, and its long-term transfer of military products to non-state actors has seriously threatened international and regional peace and stability.

　　At the regular press conference that day, a reporter asked: At the recent United Nations Open Working Conference on Conventional Ammunition, China and other countries proposed "not to export ammunition to non-state entities", which attracted opposition from the United States. Can the spokesman further introduce the situation? What’s your comment on this?

　　Wang Wenbin said that the United Nations Open Working Conference on Conventional Ammunition was held from 13 to 17 February. During the meeting, China put forward the text of "not exporting ammunition to non-state entities" and "exporting ammunition to conflict areas in a cautious and responsible way", calling on the international community to strengthen control, which was echoed by many developing countries, while the United States continued its passive and conservative position on the formulation of international rules on the management of small arms and ammunition and opposed the above text.

　　"As we all know, the United States is the country with the largest number of guns per capita, and gun violence has become a nightmare for the American people. However, it is equally worrying that the management of light and small arms and ammunition in the United States has always been loose, and its export is unscrupulous. It has long transferred military products to non-state actors, openly interfered in other countries’ internal affairs, and contributed to military conflicts and social chaos. A large number of ammunition cannot be traced or even fell into the hands of terrorist organizations and extremist forces, seriously threatening international and regional peace and stability. " Wang Wenbin said.

　　Wang Wenbin said that according to the State Council data, US foreign arms sales in fiscal year 2022 increased by nearly 50% compared with the previous fiscal year, and an important reason was the escalation of the Ukrainian crisis. The United States and other western countries continue to supply arms to Ukraine, which not only leads to the protracted crisis in Ukraine, but also causes many guns and ammunition shipped to Ukraine to be smuggled to criminals in Europe and other regions through international criminal groups. Interpol and Europol have issued warnings about this. African leaders have said that terrorists in Lake Chad used smuggled weapons from conflict areas in Ukraine. The United States itself admits that Ukrainian officials cannot know exactly where the weapons delivered by the United States will eventually go.

　　Wang Wenbin said that the Mexican government blamed most of the violence in the country on American weapons, and organizations such as the Islamic State and the Pakistani Taliban were found to have used American weapons. According to a report released by center for american progress, from 2014 to 2016, 50,133 weapons were found to have originated in the United States in criminal cases in 15 countries in North America, Central America and the Caribbean, which is equivalent to that American weapons were used to commit a crime every 31 minutes.

　　"Arms output is just ‘ American output ’ The tip of the iceberg. What the United States has brought to other countries is not the gospel of democracy and human rights, but the people’s livelihood is languishing and the society is in turmoil ‘ Blood debt ’ . The United States should recognize that the more such output, the greater the backlash it will eventually encounter. Instead of creating trouble again, it is better to think about what good things can be done for the international community. " Wang Wenbin said.