China

China is a state party to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. China supports the negotiation of a legally binding instrument on autonomous weapons systems. China participated in the 2013 UN Human Rights Council discussion on autonomous weapons systems, and has participated in all Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons meetings on autonomous weapons systems.

In December 2025, China abstained from voting on UN General Assembly Resolution 80/57 on lethal autonomous weapons systems. Mindful of the challenges and concerns autonomous weapons systems raise from humanitarian, legal, security, technological and ethical perspectives, Resolution 80/57 stresses the urgent need for the CCW to address the challenges and concerns posed by autonomous weapons systems, and calls upon the High Contracting Parties of the CCW to ‘work towards completing the set of elements for an instrument being developed within the mandate of the Group of Governmental Experts, with a view to future negotiation.’

At the 79th UN General Assembly First Committee in October 2024, China abstained from voting on Draft Resolution L.77 on lethal autonomous weapons systems. Draft Resolution L.77 raises concerns about the ‘negative consequences and impact of autonomous weapon systems on global security and regional and international stability’ and stresses ‘the importance of the role of humans in the use of force to ensure responsibility and accountability and for States to comply with international law.’ It also notes ‘the repeated calls by the Secretary-General to urgently conclude negotiations of a legally binding instrument with prohibitions and regulations for autonomous weapons systems, in line with a two-tier approach.’ The Resolution will convene open informal consultations in 2025 over two days in New York, ‘to consider the report of the Secretary-General in full complementarity with and in a manner that supports the fulfilment of the mandate of the Group of Governmental Experts in order to further the international community’s understanding of the issues involved by discussing the full range of views received, including proposals and relevant aspects raised in the report that may thus far not have been discussed in detail in the Group of Governmental Experts.’

China made a submission to the UN Secretary-General pursuant to Resolution 78/241 on autonomous weapons systems in May 2024.

In December 2023, China abstained from voting on UN General Assembly Resolution 78/241 on lethal autonomous weapons systems. Resolution 78/241 stressed the ‘urgent need for the international community to address the challenges and concerns raised by autonomous weapons systems’, and mandated the UN Secretary-General to prepare a report, reflecting the views of member and observer states on autonomous weapons systems and ways to address the related challenges and concerns they raise from humanitarian, legal, security, technological and ethical perspectives and on the role of humans in the use of force.

At the 2023 CCW GGE on LAWS, China stated that ‘we must ensure that weapons systems are always under human control’, and said that states should ‘negotiate and formulate international law’ in the area of autonomous weapons systems.^[1]Statement by China, CCW Group of Governmental Experts on LAWS, 6 March … Continue reading

At the first session of the 2021 meeting of the CCW GGE on LAWS, China stated that it hopes that, upon reaching consensus as to the definition of autonomous weapons systems, parties to the CCW would ‘negotiate a legally binding instrument to limit and regulate fully autonomous lethal weapons systems.’^[2]Statement by China, CCW Group of Governmental Experts on LAWS, 05 August 2021,http://149.202.215.129:8080/s2t/UNOG/LAWS-05-08-2021-PM_mp3_en.html; please note that this link leads to the full … Continue reading It has further stated that a ‘treaty framework is the right vessel’ to deal with issues raised by autonomous weapons systems,^[3]Statement by China, CCW Group of Governmental Experts on LAWS, 03 August 2021,http://149.202.215.129:8080/s2t/UNOG/LAWS-03-08-2021-AM_mp3_en.html; please note that this link leads to the full … Continue reading and there is an ‘increasing urgency in adopting some measures’ on autonomous weapons systems.^[4]Statement by China, CCW Group of Governmental Experts on LAWS, 03 August 2021,http://149.202.215.129:8080/s2t/UNOG/LAWS-03-08-2021-PM_mp3_en.html; please note that this link leads to the full … Continue reading

China has stated that autonomous weapons systems ‘face an array of challenges’ when it comes to the implementation of the primary principles of international humanitarian law, and has noted that ‘we cannot expect such systems to distinguish between civilians and combatants like a human’, that such systems ‘cannot make proportional decisions’, and that ‘it is very difficult to trace accountability’ when using autonomous weapon systems.^[5]Statement by China, CCW Group of Governmental Experts on LAWS, 03 August 2021,http://149.202.215.129:8080/s2t/UNOG/LAWS-03-08-2021-AM_mp3_en.html; please note that this link leads to the full … Continue reading