China has formally rejected a proposal from U.S. President Donald Trump to engage in trilateral denuclearization talks with the United States and Russia, citing significant imbalances in nuclear arsenals and reaffirming its longstanding defense policy.
On Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun stated that it is "neither reasonable nor realistic" to expect China to participate in such negotiations. Guo emphasized the vast disparity between China’s nuclear stockpile and those of the U.S. and Russia, both of which collectively possess about 90 percent of the world’s nuclear weapons. He reiterated Beijing’s policy of maintaining a minimal deterrent force, aligned with its “no first use” doctrine, which pledges not to initiate a nuclear strike.
Guo asserted that the primary responsibility for disarmament rests with Washington and Moscow. “The U.S. and Russia, with their massive arsenals, should take the lead in nuclear arms reduction before involving other nations,” he said.
President Trump, earlier in the week, expressed a renewed interest in limiting nuclear weapons. Speaking to reporters on Monday, he revealed that he had discussed the matter with Russian President Vladimir Putin and expressed a desire for China to participate. “We talked with Putin about limiting nuclear weapons. We have the most, Russia second, China third. China is very behind but they will catch us in five years,” Trump stated, adding, “We’re talking about limiting nuclear weapons. We’ll get China into that.”
The proposal comes as the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), which limits deployed strategic nuclear warheads for the U.S. and Russia, approaches its expiration on February 5, 2026. Trump has indicated he wishes to negotiate either an extension or a new agreement.
China, which historically possessed around 200 warheads since its first acquisition in the 1960s, has expanded its arsenal in recent years, with estimates now at roughly 600 warheads, projected to reach 1,000 by the end of the decade. In comparison, the U.S. is estimated to possess about 5,000 warheads and Russia around 5,500, each with over 1,700 deployed.
This disparity underscores Beijing’s position that its limited arsenal does not warrant inclusion in the same category as the two nuclear superpowers. China has also pointed to the U.S. withdrawals from key Cold War-era treaties, including the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty in 2002 under George W. Bush and the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in 2019 under Trump, as undermining trust in future arms control frameworks.