China's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ma Zhaoxu (Front) addresses a UN Security Council meeting on non-proliferation at the UN headquarters in New York, on April 2, 2019. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

UNITED NATIONS, April 2 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy to the United Nations (UN) said Tuesday the international community should jointly steer the 2020 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) toward pragmatic results.

Chinese Permanent Representative to the UN Ma Zhaoxu made the remarks at a Security Council meeting on supporting the NPT ahead of the conference.

Ma called for abandoning the Cold War mentality, upholding the multilateral arms control regime, as well as strengthening dialogue and consultation and safeguarding the treaty regime.

"All parties should actively encourage and promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy cooperation and make it a hallmark of the current round of treaty review process," he stressed.

Also, at the meeting, UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu encouraged creative thinking for "a successful outcome" of the 2020 review conference.

"In 2020, state parties need to consider what possible outcome can both ensure success and drive forward implementation of the treaty," Nakamitsu said.

The UN disarmament chief also warned that the prospect of the use of nuclear weapons is higher than it has been in generations.

The disarmament success of the post-Cold War era has come to a halt and there is "dangerous rhetoric about the utility of nuclear weapons and an increased reliance on these weapons in security doctrines," she said.

Since 1995, NPT review conferences have produced decisions, action plans, practical steps and measures to improve the effectiveness of the review process itself.

The NPT, signed in 1968 and effective since 1970, is the only treaty that contains legally-binding commitments to pursuing nuclear disarmament. A total of 191 states have joined the treaty.

In a press statement Tuesday, Security Council members reaffirmed their commitment to advancing "the goals of the NPT as the cornerstone of the nuclear non-proliferation regime and the foundation for the pursuit of nuclear disarmament and the peaceful uses of nuclear energy."

They expressed their readiness to work together and join efforts to achieve a successful outcome at the 2020 conference.