China describes trilateral talks on US and Russian nuclear disarmament as ‘unrealistic’

Global conflicts have increased and, as a result, the risk of a possible nuclear confrontation is leading the major powers to seek global disarmament. However, these countries are increasingly developing their weapons. 

In this context, last week's meeting in Alaska between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump left many issues on the table, including the nuclear disarmament of both powers, although they requested China's participation in the talks in order to begin discussions.

In response to these statements, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said that for the Asian giant to participate in the nuclear disarmament talks between Russia and the United States is ‘unreasonable and unrealistic’. This response came as no surprise in Washington, but it did have an impact on the Kremlin.

Guo alluded to the fact that China's nuclear power ‘is not at all on the same level as that of Russia and the United States, which account for around 90% of the world's nuclear warheads’. He added that the nuclear policy of both powers is ‘totally contrary to that of China’. Finally, Guo stated that his country will not agree to enter into or take part in any arms race with any country. 

For China, Russia and the United States must be consistent with their nuclear capabilities. However, Donald Trump, in his meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae-Sung, insisted that Beijing must be part of the talks on denuclearisation.

China agrees with nuclear disarmament. In fact, the Malaysian Prime Minister pointed out that Southeast Asia is ready for total disarmament in the coming months when Russia and the United States begin their talks. Since the Asian country obtained its first nuclear bomb, it has always applied a policy of not being the first to attack and only using them in a self-defence strategy.

Currently, nine countries possess nuclear weapons: the United States, Russia, China, India, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, France, Israel and North Korea. However, of these, only Israel has not officially confirmed its possession of such weapons.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), there are currently more than 12,000 nuclear warheads distributed among 5,580 in the United States, 5,040 in Russia, 500 in China, 290 in France, and 225 in the United Kingdom. The rest are distributed among North Korea, India, and Pakistan.