Joining US-Russia nuclear disarmament talks neither reasonable nor realistic: China

ISTANBUL

China said on Wednesday that its joining in the nuclear disarmament negotiations between the US and Russia is “neither reasonable nor realistic.”

Beijing’s remarks came after US President Donald Trump said Monday he discussed limiting nuclear weapons with Russian President Vladimir Putin, including plans to involve China in denuclearization efforts.

"We are talking about limiting nuclear weapons. We will get China into that," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday. "We have the most. Russia has the second most, and China has the third."

In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun urged the nations that possess the largest nuclear arsenals to “fulfill their special and primary responsibility” for nuclear disarmament.

“China’s nuclear capabilities are not on the same scale as those of the US. The two countries’ nuclear policies and strategic security environments are also fundamentally different,” Guo told reporters in Beijing.

“Demanding that China join US-Russia-China trilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations is neither reasonable nor realistic,” he added, stressing that Beijing adheres to a “no-first-use policy” of nuclear weapons.

He added that Beijing pursues a nuclear strategy of “self-defense” and has always kept its nuclear forces at the “minimum level required for national security.”

Regarding Trump’s remarks welcoming Chinese students in the US, Guo expressed hopes for Washington to end “the unwarranted harassment, questioning, and deportation of Chinese students” and genuinely “safeguard their legitimate rights and interests.”

“I hear so many stories about how we’re not going to allow their students to come in,” Trump told reporters on Monday at the White House. “It’s very important, 600,000, very important, now we’re going to get along with China.”