Nuclear Disarmament Negotiations? The United States Should Take Primary Responsibility

These days, narratives about China’s “growing nuclear arsenal” frequently appear in the reports by a few U.S. media outlets and think tanks, some even claim that China poses a “nuclear threat.”

So, what exactly is China’s nuclear policy?

Right after China successfully conducted its first nuclear test on October 16, 1964, the Chinese government solemnly declared that China advocates for the comprehensive prohibition and complete destruction of nuclear weapons.

For many years, China has maintained its nuclear capabilities at the minimum level as required for national security, not seeking nuclear parity or engaging in a nuclear arms race with any nuclear-armed country. China does not provide a nuclear umbrella, nor does it deploy nuclear weapons abroad.

It is worth to note that of all the nuclear powers, China is the only one committed to a no-first-use policy under any circumstances and to unconditionally not using or threatening to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon states and nuclear-weapon-free zones.

And, when it comes to nuclear capability, China is far from being on par with the U.S. and Russia. According to estimates by the Federation of American Scientists, the U.S. and Russia each have around 1,500 nuclear warheads, far surpassing China.

In recent years, the U.S. has been aggressively upgrading its “triad” nuclear forces, developing and seeking forward deployment of tactical nuclear weapons, resuming the development of land-based intermediate-range missiles, and seeking deployment in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

In the Biden administration’s defense budget request for fiscal year 2024, the budget for nuclear forces was raised to $37.7 billion, an increase of 9.6%.

The U.S. is also actively enhancing “extended deterrence” with its allies, promoting nuclear submarine and other advanced military technology cooperation with Japan and Australia, continuously breaking self-imposed constraints in the arms control field, and withdrawing from treaties such as the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM) and the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF). These actions have severely undermined the international arms control system.

China’s nuclear policies are fair and well-justifiable. The United States, as the country with the world’s largest and most advanced nuclear arsenal, should adopt a responsible nuclear policy, act to uphold the international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation system, and take genuine efforts to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in national and collective security policies.