Beijing has dismissed suggestions from Washington that it should join trilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations alongside the United States and Russia, stating that such expectations are both unrealistic and unreasonable.
President Donald Trump had expressed optimism earlier in the week that China would eventually participate in discussions aimed at curbing the spread of nuclear weapons.
“I think the denuclearization is a very — it’s a big aim. But Russia’s willing to do it and I think China is going to be willing to do it too,” Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House. “We can’t let nuclear weapons proliferate. We have to stop nuclear weapons,” he added.
The U.S. and Russia, which together control nearly 90% of the world’s nuclear arsenal, remain the central players in global arms control. However, Moscow withdrew from its last active arms reduction agreement with Washington in 2023, further straining dialogue on disarmament.
Asked about Mr. Trump’s remarks, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said Wednesday that it was “neither reasonable nor realistic” to expect Beijing to join such talks.
“China and the United States are not at the same level at all in terms of nuclear capabilities,” Guo told reporters. “The countries with the largest nuclear arsenal should earnestly fulfil their special and primary responsibility for nuclear disarmament.”
While Beijing has repeatedly affirmed its general support for nuclear disarmament, it has consistently rejected invitations from Washington to participate in U.S.-Russia negotiations. According to 2024 figures from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the United States holds 3,708 nuclear warheads and Russia 4,380, excluding retired stockpiles. China’s arsenal is estimated at 500, up by 90 from the previous year, while France and the United Kingdom hold 290 and 225, respectively.
China reiterated Wednesday that its nuclear program is maintained “at the minimum level required for national security” and stressed that it “does not engage in an arms race with any country.”
Meanwhile, tensions between Washington and Moscow remain overshadowed by Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine. Arms control has largely fallen off the bilateral agenda, with no substantive negotiations reported in recent years.
In 2023, President Vladimir Putin revoked Russia’s ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), explaining that the move was meant to “mirror” the U.S., which signed but never ratified the treaty. Adopted in 1996, the CTBT prohibits all nuclear test explosions worldwide but has yet to enter into full force, as it remains unratified by key states including the U.S., China, India, Pakistan, North Korea, Israel, Iran, and Egypt.
