Li Song, China's ambassador to the UN-sponsored Conference on Disarmament, has welcomed the U.S. and Russia's decision to extend the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), noting the US and Russia are "countries with the largest nuclear arsenals".

The United States and Russia on Wednesday officially announced a five-year extension of the treaty, the maximum period allowed by the treaty, two days before expiration.

Speaking on Thursday at the Plenary Meeting of the Conference on Disarmament, Li said the START would "create conditions for the ultimate goal of general and complete nuclear disarmament."

"China is ready to conduct bilateral dialogues, on the basis of equality and mutual respect, on issues related to strategic security with other nuclear-weapon States, including the US and Russia, so as to enhance strategic trust," said Li.

"China is also ready to participate in dialogues and cooperation in the multilateral fora, such as the P5 mechanism, the NPT review process, and the CD, with a view to maintaining the strategic stability, enhancing international peace and security, and promoting international arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation process," he added.

The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, signed in April 2010 by the United States and Russia, limits the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads to 1,550 and deployed missiles and bombers to 700 for each country. The treaty entered into force on Feb. 5, 2011, and would have expired on Feb. 5, 2021.