China asks US to cut down nuclear stockpile

ISTANBUL

China on Tuesday asked the US to cut down its nuclear stockpile, take responsibility for nuclear disarmament and create conditions for other nuclear-weapon states to join the nuclear disarmament process.

"The US, as a nuclear superpower sitting on the world’s biggest nuclear arsenal, must fulfill its special and primary responsibility for nuclear disarmament, further make drastic and substantive cuts to its nuclear arsenal, and create conditions for other nuclear-weapon states to join the nuclear disarmament process. This should be a high priority for the US," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said during a regular news conference in Beijing.

China was reacting to reports about Beijing expanding its intercontinental ballistic missiles by 100 across three silo fields and not desiring arms control talks.

"We’ve been hearing the same story told and retold by the US to create a pretext for speeding up the upgrade of US nuclear power and disrupting global strategic stability. The international community needs to be soberly aware of that," Lin stated.

Beijing "remains firmly committed to the policy of no first use of nuclear weapons and a nuclear strategy that focuses on self-defense," Lin said.

"China keeps its nuclear strength at the minimum level required by national security and does not engage in any nuclear arms race with any country," he added.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Russia holds the world’s largest nuclear arsenal, with 5,459 warheads, followed by the US with 5,177. Together, the two nations account for approximately 90% of the world’s total nuclear weapons.

While China's stockpile remains significantly smaller, it is rapidly expanding, having reached 600 warheads from 500 during the year, the fastest expansion among all nuclear-armed states, according to SIPRI.