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SHIJIAZHUANG, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- The destruction of Japanese abandoned chemical weapons (ACWs) in Shijiazhuang, capital of northern China's Hebei Province, was concluded Friday, sources with the operation said.
According to an official on the Chinese side, a total of 2,576 ACWs were destroyed in the city and its surrounding areas since the disposal was initiated in December 2012.
"The destruction work was carried out in a safe, orderly and smooth manner, basically eliminating the threats and hazards posed by the Japanese ACWs to local people's lives, property and the ecological environment," the official said.
The official said that Japanese ACWs were one of the grave crimes committed by Japanese militarists during Japan's war of aggression against China, and that they were still potentially dangerous.
He said that China urged Japan to speed up the destruction of the rest of its ACWs in China on the precondition of ensuring personnel and environmental safety.
Japan abandoned at least 2 million tonnes of chemical weapons at 40 sites in 15 Chinese provinces at the end of World War II, most of them in the three northeast provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning.
