China rejected an invitation from the United States to join talks with Russia about limiting nuclear warheads.
President Trump’s administration demanded that China participate in negotiations over the renewal of New START, a treaty restricting the number of warheads the U.S. and Russia are allowed to maintain.
Beijing said it would only join the negotiations if the U.S. reduces its arsenal to match China’s smaller arsenal. Beijing’s arsenal is about one-fifth the size of the ones possessed by the U.S. or Russia, but the Trump administration has argued it poses a major threat.
“China’s opposition of the so-called trilateral arms control negotiations is very clear,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Friday. “However, the U.S. continues to pester China, even distorting China’s position.”
Zhao called the U.S. proposal for negotiations “neither serious nor sincere.”
The treaty expires in February, just months after the upcoming presidential election, and the U.S. has indicated that it will not renew any arms control treaty unless China is also a party.
