China joins global arms trade treaty in UN

China on Tuesday joined a global arms trade treaty spurned by the United States.

China’s UN ambassador Zhang Jun said he had deposited China’s instrument of accession to the treaty, which regulates a US$70 billion global cross-border trade in conventional arms and seeks to keep weapons out of the hands of human rights abusers.

China’s top legislative body voted in late June to join the UN Arms Trade Treaty.

The signing demonstrates China’s “resolve and sincerity in maintaining international arms control regime, supporting multilateralism, and forging a community with a shared future for mankind,” Zhang said in a statement.

The statement added that Beijing allows arms exports only to sovereign states and not to non-state actors.

China becomes the 107th party to the pact, approved by the UN General Assembly in 2013. Then-US President Barack Obama signed it, but it was opposed by the National Rifle Association and never ratified by the US Senate. US President Donald Trump has said he would revoke his predecessor’s signature.