The United States accused China of rapidly expanding its nuclear arsenal and called for Beijing to be included in any future arms control deal. The warning comes after the New START treaty with Russia expired earlier this month
Washington on Monday accused China of rapidly expanding its nuclear arsenal and reiterated claims that Beijing has conducted secret nuclear tests, insisting that China must be included in any future arms control agreement.
The warning comes as the New START treaty between the United States and Russia expired earlier this month. Washington said the lapse presents an opportunity to negotiate a “better agreement” that also involves China. Beijing has so far rejected calls to participate in such talks.
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Christopher Yeaw, US Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control and Nonproliferation, addressed the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, describing New START as “seriously flawed.”
“Perhaps its greatest flaw was that New START did not account for the unprecedented, deliberate, rapid and opaque nuclear weapons build-up by China,” Yeaw said.
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He added, “Despite its claims to the contrary, China has deliberately and without constraint, massively expanded its nuclear arsenal without transparency or any indication of intent or end point. We believe China may achieve parity within the next four or five years.”
While both Russia and the US have over 5,000 nuclear weapons, New START had limited each side to 1,550 deployed warheads—a threshold that Washington says China is quickly approaching.
“Beijing is on track to have the fissile material necessary for more than 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030,” Yeaw said.
The expiration of New START marks the first time in decades that no treaty limits the world’s largest nuclear arsenals, raising fears of a renewed arms race. Yeaw welcomed the lapse, arguing that the treaty’s numerical limits are now “no longer relevant,” citing Russia’s alleged violations and support in boosting China’s nuclear capacity.
“The expiration arrived at a fortuitous time,” he said, calling it an opportunity for President Donald Trump to pursue “the ultimate goal of a better agreement.”
Yeaw emphasised that the