China halts nuclear talks with U.S. over Taiwan arms sales

A spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lin Jian, stated on Wednesday that the government in Beijing has decided to suspend talks with the United States on arms control and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. The reason for this decision is the U.S. supplying weapons to Taiwan.

The spokesperson for the Chinese MFA stated that for some time now, the American side has ignored China's strong opposition and continues to sell weapons to Taiwan. It has also taken certain negative actions that have seriously undermined China’s fundamental interests and harmed mutual political trust," stated the spokesperson for the Chinese MFA.

In response to a question about the progress of talks between Beijing and Washington in this area, Lin Jian explained that China has decided to suspend negotiations with the United States on a new round of consultations regarding arms control and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.

The first meeting in years between representatives of the U.S. and China, the content of which was not made public, took place in November of last year. The meeting was aimed at avoiding an arms race between the powers. According to media reports, the meeting did not constitute formal negotiations.

It occurred shortly before discussions between the leaders of both countries, Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, at the APEC summit in San Francisco, bringing a temporary thaw in bilateral relations. Previously, China had refused to participate in a dialogue with the U.S. on nuclear weapons.

The annual Pentagon report on Chinese military forces, published in October 2023, indicates that the nuclear arsenal of the PRC is growing faster than expected and currently stands at over 500 nuclear warheads (the U.S. and Russia possess about 5,000, with 1,500 deployed) and will exceed 1,000 by 2030.

China, which considers Taiwan a "rebel province" and does not rule out the use of military force to take control of it, regularly condemns the sale of arms to the island. In recent years, it has imposed sanctions on many American military companies, including the Lockheed Corporation.

In June of this year, the United States approved two military equipment sale transactions to Taiwan worth approximately £250 million, which was met with a strong reaction from China.

The spokesperson for the Chinese MFA declared that China wants to maintain communication with the U.S. on international arms control issues based on mutual respect. He stressed that the United States must respect China’s fundamental interests and create the necessary conditions for this.