China suspends nuclear talks with Washington

China has broken off initial talks with the United States on nuclear arms control, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. The incident was a protest against Washington’s arms sales to the democratically governed island of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory.

The Chinese decision represents a potentially serious setback for global arms control efforts, as analysts say Beijing, along with Moscow, is refusing to discuss measures to curb a nuclear arms race with Washington.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said repeated US arms sales to Taiwan in recent months had “seriously affected the political climate for the continuation of arms control consultations.”

“Consequently, the Chinese side has decided to postpone talks with the United States on a new round of consultations on arms control and non-proliferation. The responsibility lies entirely with the United States,” Lin said at a press conference in Beijing.

Lin said China is willing to maintain communication on international arms control, but the US must “respect China’s core interests and create the necessary conditions for dialogue and exchanges.”

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said China had followed Russia’s example and said arms control measures could not be continued as long as there were other challenges in bilateral relations.

“We believe this approach undermines strategic stability and increases the risk of an arms race,” Miller told reporters.

“Unfortunately, by suspending these consultations, China has decided not to make efforts to contain strategic risks and prevent costly arms races. But we, the United States, remain open to working with China to develop and implement concrete measures to reduce risks.”

The administration of US President Joe Biden advocates a policy of “compartmentalization” in which talks on nuclear arms control are separated from other contentious Sino-American issues.

The Chinese decision comes just over a month after the Biden administration said the U.S. may need to deploy more strategic nuclear weapons to counter the growing threat from Chinese and Russian arsenals.

Daryl Kimball, executive director of the advocacy group Arms Control Association, said the United States, Russia and China, as signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty – the cornerstone of global arms control – have a legal obligation to “engage in talks to prevent an arms race.”

“They can only achieve this through serious dialogue. Russia’s refusal to engage in such a dialogue and China’s decision to engage in such a dialogue are very serious setbacks,” he said.

In November, US and Chinese leaders resumed talks on nuclear weapons, but despite US concerns about China’s rapid buildup of nuclear weapons, formal arms control negotiations were not expected in the near future.

The US estimates that China has over 500 operational nuclear warheads and that it will likely have more than 1,000 by 2030.

US officials have expressed disappointment that Beijing has shown little interest in discussing measures to reduce the risks of nuclear weapons, but Beijing has long argued that the US already has a much larger arsenal.

The United States has a stockpile of about 3,700 nuclear warheads, of which about 1,419 are strategic warheads. Russia has about 1,550 nuclear weapons deployed and a stockpile of 4,489 nuclear warheads, according to the Federation of American Scientists.

The United States is Taiwan’s main international backer and arms supplier, even though there are no official diplomatic relations. China has repeatedly called for an end to arms sales.

Taiwan has been protesting for four years against China’s increased military activities near the island, which include almost daily deployments of Chinese fighter jets and warships.