Сhina excludes nuclear weapons reduction discussions with US, Russia

2025-09-01 02:58:21

(MENAFN) China has firmly declined to join nuclear disarmament negotiations with the United States and Russia, calling the proposal “unreasonable and unrealistic” due to its comparatively small nuclear arsenal, which it maintains strictly for national defense.

Speaking at a press briefing on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun dismissed U.S. President Donald Trump’s suggestion that China participate in future nuclear arms talks. Guo emphasized that China and the U.S. are not on equal footing when it comes to nuclear capabilities.

“The country with the largest nuclear arsenal should take the lead in disarmament,” Guo said, referring to the United States. He reiterated that China adheres to a “no first use” policy and maintains only the minimum number of nuclear weapons needed for its security, adding that China is not involved in any arms race.

Trump had earlier stated that he discussed nuclear reductions with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting in Alaska and suggested that China should eventually be included in such agreements. “We have the most, Russia is second, and China is third — but they’ll catch up in five years,” Trump said. Russia has yet to comment on the discussion.

According to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the U.S. holds around 1,930 warheads in storage and 1,770 deployed, while Russia has 2,591 in storage and 1,718 deployed. China’s stockpile is much smaller, with an estimated 576 warheads, of which only 24 are deployed. The UK and France have 120 and 280 deployed warheads, respectively.

The most recent arms control agreement between the U.S. and Russia, the New START treaty, limits each country to 1,550 deployed strategic warheads. Although the treaty was extended to 2026, Russia formally suspended its participation in 2023 in response to U.S. military support for Ukraine, while stating it would still honor the treaty's limits.

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