The Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on 2 April 2013 with 155 votes in favour, three votes against, and 22 abstentions. This is good news for the maintenance of international peace and stability and conducive to the protection of human security. Easy access to and widespread use of conventional arms can have a destructive impact on people’s safety and well-being, as well as on national stability and social order. The severity of this impact should not be underestimated. The achievement of the United Nations (UN) in agreeing rules for regulating the conventional arms trade, which was the result of six years of negotia­tion efforts, is without doubt positive.

The Treaty opened for signature on 3 June 2013. Though China played a constructive role in the ATT negotiations, it abstained at the UNGA vote and has not yet signed the Treaty. This article suggests several areas in which the international community – whether international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) or regional organisations working on conventional arms control issues or progressive states involved in the UN ATT process – can cooperate with China to encourage the country to be more engaged in the next steps of the ATT process.

There are those within the Chinese policy community who have been following the ATT process very closely from the outset and to whom the common global challenges that the Treaty aims to address are obvious. One obstacle to China’s deeper engagement in the next stages of the Treaty relates to the fact that there are those within the Chinese policy community whose first encounter with the Treaty was when it was taken to the UNGA, where China, Russia, and India, along with 19 other states, all chose to abstain. Lacking at this time a deeper understanding of the background to the Treaty and the negotiation process, some – this author included – took this to mean that the substance of the ATT ran counter to the interests of these abstaining countries.

In response to this lack of understanding, it is incumbent upon Chinese scholars and policy actors to better educate themselves on the background, process, and the next steps of the Treaty. Yet the international community also has a role to play in easing the concerns of Chinese scholars and policy actors who are sceptical of the benefits of the ATT. International NGOs working on this issue can play a role in this process by, for example, providing more Chinese-language analysis on the Treaty. Topics could include the reasons why certain states chose to abstain, the role that conflict-affected states played in the negotiation process, and how the Treaty can be in China’s interest – for example, by helping to reduce security threats to the country. This will help the Chinese policy community to better understand the universal benefits of the Treaty as well as the benefits for China.

A second obstacle relates to China’s internal capacity. In order to ensure that China can best be prepared to adopt and implement the Treaty, sufficient time needs to be spent on adjusting China’s current regulations and practices surrounding the conventional arms trade. To address this, significant joint efforts will have to be made on the part of various government departments and interest groups in China. Again, the international community also has a role to play in this regard. Best practices can be shared with officials from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Commerce, and the General Administration of Customs, as well as military and industry repre­sentatives and international legal experts working on the Treaty’s implementation; this will assist China to make any internal changes that will be needed in order to comply with the Treaty’s obligations.

A third obstacle relates to the relatively low profile of conventional arms control within China’s academic community. As compared with analysis on weapons of mass destruction, for example, the conventional arms trade is currently of low concern among Chinese academics. As yet, limited analysis has been done on this topic by Chinese scholars. University students with a background in inter-national or public security usually do not have access to courses, or debates, on conventional arms control within Chinese universities.

In response, efforts should be made by Chinese scholars to conduct more analysis on the threats associated with the illicit and irresponsible trade in conventional arms. Chinese universities should consider introducing courses focusing on conven-tional arms control to students majoring in security studies. One role that the inter-national community can play in this regard is through international experts on con­ventional arms offering to deliver lectures and seminars within China on this subject.

Lastly, among top-level officials from the Chinese Government, the ATT as yet does not receive sufficient consideration. Here the international community has a particularly important role to play: raising the profile of conventional arms control in relevant international fora is crucial. In this way, whether at world summits or high-profile regional conferences, more opportunities will be created to influence prominent Chinese officials on the importance of the ATT. International donors could also consider increasing funding for NGOs who are currently working on this issue.

In conclusion, the General Assembly’s approval of the ATT last year was a significant event in conventional arms control, but more needs to be done to turn the ATT obligations on paper into concrete change on the ground. In this context, there are many areas in which China and the international community can work together to better ensure that China is actively engaged in the next steps of the ATT process, and thus ensure that it plays its full part in helping to deliver the security improvements to which the ATT aspires.

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