China's Rejection of Nuclear Disarmament: A New Flashpoint in US-China Conflict?

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Park Sun-mi] The conflict between the United States and China is at risk of deepening as China refuses to participate in nuclear disarmament.

On the 11th, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that China's refusal to engage in nuclear disarmament could become a new flashpoint in the US-China conflict, highlighting the tense standoff between the US pressuring China to join and China rejecting participation ahead of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) extension talks set to begin on the 22nd in Vienna, Austria.

Marshall Billingslea, the US special envoy for nuclear disarmament, requested the Chinese side the day before to reconsider participating in the nuclear disarmament talks starting on the 22nd of this month.

Billingslea also stated on Twitter, "China has indicated it has no intention to participate in the trilateral talks. They need to reconsider." He added, "To achieve great power status, one must act with strong responsibility. There should no longer be a secret Great Wall in making nuclear weapons. We await China's attendance in Vienna." Billingslea is scheduled to meet Sergey Ryabkov, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister, in Vienna on the 22nd to begin negotiations on extending New START, which expires in February next year. The US is pushing to bring China into the treaty as a party to establish a trilateral nuclear disarmament agreement among the US, China, and Russia.

New START, signed in 2010, limits the number of deployed nuclear warheads to no more than 1,550 each for the US and Russia and places restrictions on nuclear warhead delivery systems such as intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). Although it is a nuclear disarmament treaty between the US and Russia, with its expiration approaching in February next year, the US insists that China must participate as a party to the New START negotiations as a condition for extension.

China has publicly refused to participate in the New START negotiations. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on its website, "The United States and Russia, which have the largest nuclear arsenals, bear special and prioritized responsibilities for nuclear disarmament." Additionally, in December last year, Hua Chunying, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, criticized the US attempt to draw China into the negotiation table, saying, "The US is trying to shift responsibility onto others."

Experts believe that given China's firm refusal to participate in nuclear disarmament talks, the possibility of China sitting at the negotiation table is slim. Chinese military expert Song Zhongping said, "China's nuclear arsenal is much smaller compared to the US and Russia," and assessed, "China will not sit at the negotiation table until the US and Russia reduce their arsenals to China's level or China's capabilities increase to the level of the US and Russia."

He added, "As the US tries to bring China into the talks, nuclear disarmament has become a new battleground in US-China conflicts. Since China's nuclear capability is relatively weak, it is a situation where increasing rather than reducing is necessary."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.