China Rejects Nuclear Talks with US, Russia
China has rejected the proposal to join trilateral nuclear disarmament talks with the United States and Russia, calling the move “unreasonable and unrealistic.” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun explained that Beijing’s nuclear stockpile cannot be compared with Washington and Moscow, which collectively control the vast majority of global nuclear warheads. He stressed that China maintains a purely defensive doctrine, guided by its long-standing no-first-use policy, and has never sought parity with the U.S. or Russia in terms of nuclear capabilities. According to Guo, China’s arsenal exists only as a minimum credible deterrent, and efforts to force it into negotiations with the two largest nuclear powers ignore the imbalance of responsibility.
Responsibility on US and Russia
Chinese officials stated that disarmament must begin with countries possessing the largest arsenals. The United States and Russia hold more than 85 percent of the world’s nuclear weapons, making them primarily accountable for initiating meaningful arms reduction. Beijing underlined that it is open to multilateral discussions under the United Nations framework, but will not agree to selective trilateral formats that place disproportionate expectations on China. Guo reiterated that the key to global stability lies in Washington and Moscow demonstrating concrete reductions before pressing smaller nuclear states to participate.
US Push and Trump’s Remarks
The rejection comes in response to comments by U.S. President Donald Trump, who after talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, urged China to join efforts to curb nuclear proliferation. Trump insisted that halting the spread of nuclear weapons was critical and that all major powers should work together toward that goal. However, Beijing argues that its nuclear arsenal is already maintained at the lowest effective level for deterrence, unlike the extensive stockpiles of the U.S. and Russia. For China, being pressured into such talks without acknowledgement of these disparities undermines fairness and risks shifting focus away from the real responsibility borne by the world’s two largest nuclear powers.
