China Declares It Will Not Join Denuclearisation Talks with US and Russia

China announced on Wednesday that it would not participate in nuclear disarmament negotiations with the United States and Russia, despite US President Donald Trump expressing his hope to include Beijing in such talks.

On Monday, President Trump stated that Washington was attempting to pursue denuclearisation alongside both Moscow and Beijing.

“I think denuclearisation is a very big aim. But Russia’s willing to do it, and I think China is going to be willing to do it too. We can’t let nuclear weapons proliferate. We have to stop nuclear weapons,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

When asked about Trump’s comments, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun firmly dismissed the prospect of trilateral negotiations:

• He described the proposal as “neither reasonable nor realistic.”
• He stressed that China and the United States are not on the same level in terms of nuclear capability.
• Guo argued that the nations with the largest nuclear arsenals—Russia and the US—bear the “special and primary responsibility” for disarmament.

China reiterated its long-held stance that, while it supports disarmament in principle, it has repeatedly declined US invitations to join US-Russia arms control talks.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the global distribution of nuclear warheads in 2024 was as follows (excluding retired warheads):

Together, the United States and Russia still hold nearly 90% of the world’s nuclear weapons, despite Moscow’s decision in 2023 to withdraw from its last remaining arms control treaty with Washington.

Beijing stated on Wednesday that it maintains its nuclear arsenal “at the minimum level required for national security” and emphasised that it “does not engage in an arms race with any country.”

China’s stance underscores its reluctance to be drawn into negotiations it sees as the responsibility of the two dominant nuclear powers, while continuing to expand its own stockpile at a measured pace.