US, China hold dialogue over nuclear arsenal ahead of Xi-Biden meeting

A historic nuclear arms control meeting between the US and China took place as Washington presses Beijing to reveal more details about its expanding nuclear arsenal. The State Department said in a statement on Tuesday that representatives from the two nuclear powers engaged in a “candid and in-depth” conversation about nonproliferation and arms control on Monday. According to the statement, the US stressed the significance of increased communication and transparency on the part of China regarding actions to lower strategic risks, including those in space. In their first arms control talks in years, China revealed little in this week’s talks with the US, and no follow-up meeting is planned. Nevertheless, a senior US official described the discussions as constructive on Tuesday. Senior US and Chinese arms control diplomats led the meeting on Monday in Washington, which US officials claimed was the first since the Obama administration. The meeting itself was a step forward. “Having the meeting was in and of itself constructive. Now, I would not refer to yesterday’s meeting as substantive, though. Substantive’ implies more of a back-and-forth than occurred,” an official was quoted as saying by Reuters. The goal of this meeting, along with others involving high-ranking US and Chinese officials, is to create a favourable impression for potential negotiations between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in San Francisco the following week. Ensuring that the world’s two largest economies’ intense competition and their disagreements over everything from trade to Taiwan do not turn into a conflict has been a top priority for the US. Washington is also concerned about China’s growing nuclear arsenal, which some analysts believe could heighten the likelihood of conflict despite China having fewer warheads than the US and Russia combined. The Pentagon estimates China’s nuclear arsenal at 500 warheads. The demands Washington made of Beijing were laid out in June by White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. These included information about the number and reach of China’s nuclear forces, a readiness to notify the world about missile launches, and openness regarding the country’s nuclear arsenal expansion. He added that China’s unwillingness to “compartmentalise” arms control and strategic stability due to differences in the larger relationship had not been observed by the US. The top official made it apparent that neither a second meeting nor much candour on these matters had been reached in China. “The Chinese delegation did not respond substantively” to issues Sullivan raised, including a US need for better understanding of Beijing’s nuclear weapons doctrine, policies, and budget", the official said. “I wouldn’t say we learned anything new from them or that they delved into a great amount of detail in terms of their own nuclear force, their buildup and whether or not their policy or doctrine could be shifting over time,” he added. Sun Xiaobo, the director-general of China’s foreign ministry, and Assistant Secretary of State Mallory Stewart led the meeting. The Chinese embassy in Washington stated that it had no immediate comment on the meeting. Approximately 1,419 of the 3,700 nuclear warheads that the US has in stock are strategic warheads. Russia possesses 4,489 nuclear warheads in its stockpile, according to the Federation of American Scientists, and has deployed about 1,550 nuclear weapons. (With agency inputs)