Forging UK-China Consensus on a Strengthened NPT Regime

Demonstrating collective progress towards meeting NPT action plan commitments in the run-up to the 2015 Review Conference will be an exercise of particular importance for the UK and China. Despite notable disagreements between these two countries, this groundbreaking set of articles jointly authored by Chinese and British scholars shows that areas of potential co-operation in addressing challenges to the NPT can be found.

Shi Yongming (China Institute of International Studies) and Professor Malcolm Chalmers (RUSI) assess the prospects for nuclear stability amongst existing nuclear-armed states - including considerations of the interplay between the conditions for nuclear stability on the one hand, and developments in missile defence, tactical nuclear weapons, and conventional forces on the other.

Guo Xiaobing (Institute of Security and Arms Control Studies, China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations) and Dr Nick Ritchie (University of York) identify areas where the UK and China agree in their approach to nuclear arms control and disarmament. Can the minimum deterrence postures championed by both the UK and China act as a model for other nuclear-armed states, and how can the two countries support progress on arms control and disarmament at the P5 level and beyond?

Professor Shen Dingli (Fudan University) and Paul Schulte (Carnegie Europe) explore the potential to strengthen regimes and norms focused on nuclear non-proliferation. Their joint paper considers what mechanisms might best be used to address noncompliance, encourage NPT universality, and reinforce mechanisms such as the UN Security Council and IAEA.