BEIJING: China known as on Washington and Moscow on Tuesday (Jan 28) to “additional scale back” their nuclear arsenals as a precondition for its participation in potential disarmament talks known as for by US President Donald Trump.
Trump mentioned in a video tackle to the World Financial Discussion board in Davos, Switzerland final week that “we might prefer to see denuclearisation”, and reiterated his need for three-way talks with Russia and China.
The day after Trump’s Davos tackle, Russia mentioned it needed to renew bilateral nuclear disarmament talks “as quickly as attainable”, and that “the ball is within the People’ court docket”.
The previous Chilly Conflict rivals possess nearly 90 per cent of the world’s nuclear weapons between them, however Moscow pulled out of the last remaining arms control agreement with Washington in 2023 amid a pointy deterioration in relations.
“The 2 nuclear powers with the biggest nuclear arsenals ought to carefully fulfil their particular … tasks for nuclear disarmament,” the Chinese language overseas ministry mentioned in an announcement despatched to AFP on Tuesday.
They have to “additional considerably scale back their nuclear arsenals, in order to create the required circumstances for different nuclear-weapon states to affix the disarmament course of”, it mentioned.
Beijing says it favours disarmament in precept however has frequently rejected Washington’s invites to affix US-Russian talks on lowering their nuclear arsenals.
In accordance with 2024 estimates by the Stockholm Worldwide Peace Analysis Institute (SIPRI), the USA has 3,708 nuclear warheads and Russia 4,380, excluding retired warheads.
China had 500, 90 greater than in 2023. Behind them had been France (290) and the UK (225).
Beijing reiterated on Tuesday that its arsenal was solely for “self-defence” and that it maintained its nuclear forces “on the minimal stage required for nationwide safety”.
