A senior Chinese arms control official has denied that his government is rapidly expanding its nuclear arsenal.
He said China does need to take steps to make sure its nuclear force is sufficient in light of a changing security environment in Asia. He cited U.S. talk of deploying intermediate-range non-nuclear missiles in the region. India also has nuclear weapons, as does its neighbor Pakistan.
Fu stuck by the Chinese position that it would not join nuclear arms reduction talks between the U.S. and Russia, as the American side is pushing for. He called on both to reduce their arsenals, by far the largest in the world. “We will be happy to join if they have reduced to our level,” he said. adding that"the two superpowers need to ... drastically reduce their nuclear capabilities to a level comparable to the level of China, and for that matter to the level of France and the U.K., so that other nuclear states can join in this process.”but major change seems unlikely
given the reports of China's growing nuclear force and tensions with China over Taiwan and with Russia over Ukraine. Fu also called on the U.S. to lift sanctions on Iran, and for Iran to return to its nuclear commitments on that basis. Iran is in talks with the U.S., China, Russia, the U.K., France and Germany on restoring a 2015 agreement that granted Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program. Former President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the deal in 2018.
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