China would “be happy to” participate in trilateral arms control negotiations with the US and Russia, but only if the US were willing to reduce its nuclear arsenal to China’s level, a senior Chinese diplomat said yesterday.
Washington has repeatedly called for Beijing to join in trilateral negotiations to extend New START, a flagship nuclear arms treaty between the US and Russia that is due to expire in February next year.
Fu Cong (傅聰), director-general of the arms control department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told reporters in Beijing that China has no interest in joining the negotiation with former Cold War-era superpowers, given that the US nuclear arsenal is about 20 times the size of China’s.
Photo: AP
“I can assure you, if the US says that they are ready to come down to the Chinese level, China would be happy to participate the next day,” he said. “But actually, we know that’s not going to happen.”
Fu said that for the US, asking China to participate in trilateral negotiations is “nothing but a ploy to divert attention” and an excuse for the US to walk away from the New START extension.
“The real purpose is to get rid of all restrictions and have a free hand in seeking military superiority over any adversary, real or imagined,” Fu said.
He added that China is not “shying away from the international nuclear disarmament process” and is prepared to discuss within the framework of the UN Security Council’s five permanent members all issues related to the reduction of nuclear risks.
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