China urges US to meet nuclear disarmament obligations
Beijing on Tuesday called on Washington to fulfil its nuclear disarmament responsibilities, responding to a draft Pentagon report indicating that China may have deployed over 100 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) near the Mongolian border and showing no interest in arms control talks.
"As a super nuclear power with the largest arsenal, the most urgent task for the U.S. is to earnestly fulfil its special and priority responsibility for nuclear disarmament," said Lin Jian, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, at a regular press briefing in Beijing, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
He added that the U.S. should "substantially reduce its nuclear arsenal to create conditions for other nuclear-weapon states to join the nuclear disarmament process."
The Pentagon draft report, seen by Reuters, suggested that China has likely installed over 100 solid-fuel DF-31 ICBMs across three silo fields near Mongolia. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, a Chicago-based non-profit, has highlighted that China is expanding and modernising its nuclear stockpile faster than any other nuclear-armed nation.
"We continue to see no appetite from Beijing for pursuing such measures or more comprehensive arms control discussions," the Pentagon report noted. Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump hinted at potential plans to pursue denuclearisation talks with China and Russia.
Lin said he was unaware of the Pentagon report but dismissed it as part of "similar hypes" previously issued by the U.S. He accused Washington of using such claims to justify accelerating its own nuclear force modernisation and actions that undermine global strategic stability.
U.S. analysts have observed that Beijing has undertaken a rapid and sustained expansion of its nuclear capabilities. The Pentagon report noted that China’s nuclear warhead stockpile remained in the low 600s in 2024, reflecting a slower production rate compared to prior years, but projected growth could bring the number to over 1,000 warheads by 2030. For comparison, the U.S. is estimated to possess approximately 5,177 nuclear warheads.
"China firmly adheres to a no-first-use nuclear policy and maintains a nuclear strategy of self-defence," Lin emphasized, adding that the country "does not engage in nuclear arms races with any nation."
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