China urged the United States and Russia on Jan. 28 to "further reduce" their nuclear stockpiles as a necessary step before Beijing would consider joining potential disarmament talks proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
In a video message to the World Economic Forum in Davos last week, Trump expressed his desire for "denuclearisation" and reiterated his call for trilateral discussions involving the U.S., Russia, and China. Following Trump’s address, Russia responded by expressing its willingness to resume bilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations with the U.S. "as soon as possible," adding that "the ball is in the Americans' court."
Together, the U.S. and Russia hold nearly 90 percent of the world’s nuclear weapons. However, relations between the two nations deteriorated sharply, leading Moscow to withdraw from the last remaining arms control agreement with Washington in 2023.
In a statement to AFP, China’s foreign ministry emphasized that "the two nuclear powers with the largest nuclear arsenals should conscientiously fulfill their special... responsibilities for nuclear disarmament." The ministry added that they "must further substantially reduce their nuclear arsenals, so as to create the necessary conditions for other nuclear-weapon states to join the disarmament process."
Although Beijing claims to support disarmament in principle, it has consistently declined U.S. invitations to join disarmament talks with Russia.
According to estimates from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) in 2024, the United States possesses 3,708 nuclear warheads, while Russia has 4,380, excluding retired weapons. China has 500 warheads, 90 more than it had in 2023. France and the United Kingdom follow with 290 and 225 warheads, respectively.
China has reiterated that its nuclear arsenal is solely for "self-defense" and maintains its nuclear forces "at the minimum level required for national security."
Martin Fornusek
(Updated: )
