China has forever abandoned trilateral arms control talks with Russia and the United States, because the country's nuclear arsenal is smaller than that of Moscow and Washington. This was stated by the Deputy Representative of the People's Republic of China to the UN Geng Shuang, RIA Novosti reports.
“China has never and will not participate in any nuclear arms race with any state. Given the huge difference in the nuclear arsenals of China on the one hand, and the United States and Russia on the other, it is unfair, senseless and unrealistic to expect China to participate in any trilateral arms control negotiations, “he said during a meeting of the first committee of the UN General Assembly. dealing with disarmament and international security.
Shuang also stressed that Beijing would not agree with the use of blackmail on such an issue. However, the country's refusal from trilateral negotiations does not mean a refusal to participate in disarmament, the diplomat said. In addition, he recalled that the PRC initially advocated a complete ban and destruction of nuclear weapons.
The diplomat added that recently Washington has become the main threat to international stability and security. “In recent years, the United States has continued to withdraw from international treaties, undermining multilateral and bilateral arms control,” the diplomat said, calling on the United States to stop building up its nuclear potential and deploying missiles in Europe.
In February 2021, the START III treaty expires. If Washington and Moscow agree to extend it, the situation could break the deadlock. Experts note that so far no progress has been observed: the United States is trying to involve China in the agreement, because of which the parties cannot agree.
The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START III) was signed in 2010 by the then presidents of Russia and the United States, Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama. The agreement came into force in 2011 and expires in February 2021.
