Chinese president urges concerted action to enhance nuclear security

WASHINGTON, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao on Tuesday called for concerted action by all countries to enhance nuclear security while stressing the need to properly address the challenge.

Chinese President Hu Jintao attends the first plenary session of the Nuclear Security Summit at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, April 13, 2010.(Xinhua/Ju Peng)

"The potential threat of nuclear terrorism cannot be neglected and the risk of nuclear material diversion and illicit trafficking is on the rise," Hu said in a speech delivered at the Nuclear Security Summit here.

In the speech, Hu put forward five proposals on ways to strengthen nuclear security.

First, the Chinese president said, all countries need to honor their commitments and responsibilities by adopting effective measures to secure nuclear materials and facilities.

Second, Hu said, they should consolidate the existing international legal framework on nuclear security, which consists of the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism.

Hu's third proposal is to strengthen international cooperation by sharing experience, exchanging information and cooperating on law enforcement.

Fourth, he said, there is a need to help developing countries enhance their nuclear security capacity. Therefore he called for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the developed countries to offer greater assistance to developing countries in that respect.