Fu Cong

On 27 February 2015, Fu presented his letter of accreditation as Permanent Representative of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations at Geneva to UNOG Acting Director-General and Acting Secretary-General of the Conference on Disarmament, Michael Møller.[1]

On 13 May 2015, Fu pointed out that the government of Japan was "trying to portray Japan as a victim of the Second World War, rather than a victimizer... We don’t want any mention of Hiroshima [or] Nagasaki because there are reasons why those two [cities] were bombed... Trying to impose a partial interpretation of the Second World War on the" NPT review conference at which he was seemed to him unwise.[2]

In September 2016, Fu took part in a round table discussion entitled "The Future of Arms Control and Strategic Stability" at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.[3] On 26 February 2018, Fu read a prepared speech to the Conference on Disarmament at which he proposed the diplomats "start ASAP negotiation of a legally binding instrument on the base of the PPWT proposed by China and Russia."[4]

Fu at IAEA Headquarters in August 2020

Fu was promoted to Director-General of the Arms Control Department at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs sometime in 2019.

On 6 August 2019, Fu wanted the Americans out of the South China Sea. USS Ronald Reagan was then in transit to Manila, where it arrived the week of 11 August.[5][6] Fu said that Beijing "will not stand idly by" if Washington follows through on a pledge made earlier in August by new Defense Secretary Mark Esper to deploy ground-based missiles in the region "sooner rather than later".[7] This was the same week as Mike Pompeo renounced the INF Treaty because of Russia's refusal to destroy the 9M729 cruise missile.[8] At that point, "everything [was] on the table" for Fu.[7] China was then using its muscle to overpower Philippines and Vietnam who claim EEZs as is their right under UNCLOS, while Beijing builds artificial islands to house in them anti-ship cruise missiles and long-range surface-to-air missiles.[5]

In November 2019, Fu said that China would not participate in the Russo-American nuclear disarmament talks.[8]

On 6 December 2019, Fu stated with reference to the Iran sanctions regime that "All countries need to refrain from taking actions that further complicate the situation. In our view there is an element of automaticity into this and we can’t be sure that countries can keep this process under control. It could aggravate tensions."[9]

On 21 August 2021, Fu held a press conference aimed at controlling the narrative over the origin of Covid-19. It was at this time that the red herrings of Fort Detrick and Ralph Baric were introduced to the debate "based on the principle of fairness and justice".[10]

On 4 January 2022, Fu was forced to deny that China was rapidly amassing additional nuclear weapons. Fu announced that the PRC planned to modernize its nuclear arsenal.[11][12]

In August 2022, Fu stated that his country need not reduce its nuclear arsenal because other countries had more nuclear weapons.[13] Fu said that China felt threatened by the rise of the AUKUS trilateral security pact. This announcement was made at the Tenth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).[14] At the same time, Fu said that France and the Great Britain should be included in discussions "and should refrain from developing and expanding their nuclear capabilities. Russia had already made a similar proposal."[15]

In December 2022, Fu was made Ambassador of China to the European Union, filling a position left vacant for nearly one year.[16]

On 30 March 2023, Fu gave an interview to the Financial Times during which he complained that many recent EU decisions seemed to contradict World Trade Organization rules. On Ukraine, he said "I don’t think it is a rational approach to link the relationship with China solely to the Ukrainian crisis." Russia has "legitimate security interests... It is not as black and white as some people think it is... [there is] room for negotiation and even for China and the EU to join our hands in promoting peace." Fu said that "no possibility is excluded" for a communication session between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.[17]