China called for “drastic and substantive cuts to [the United States] nuclear arsenal” in a dismissive response to Washington’s concern that “multiple nuclear-armed adversaries” could coordinate a joint nuclear weapons threat to the United States.

“It is the U.S. who is the primary source of nuclear threats and strategic risks in the world,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Wednesday. “China urges the U.S. to fulfill its special and primary obligation of nuclear disarmament by further making drastic and substantive cuts to its nuclear arsenal, and stopping nuclear sharing, extended deterrence, expanding nuclear alliance, and other negative moves that undermine global and regional peace and stability.”