China and the United States held long-awaited talks on nuclear arms control last month, the first meeting on the subject in nearly in five years.
After U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in San Francisco on Nov. 15, they directed their teams to hold long overdue follow up discussions on nuclear arms control and nonproliferation. Although the meeting in Washington produced no specific result and no specific date for follow-on talks was announced, US officials said the discussion, which occurred amid rising nuclear and geopolitical tensions, was worthwhile simply because it took place, as stated by writer Shizuka Kuramitsu in his story "China, US Hold Rare Arms Control Talks."
In separate statements issued shortly after the meeting, the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the US State Department described the discussion between Sun Xiaobo, Chinese director-general of arms control, and Mallory Stewart, U.S. assistant secretary of state for arms control, verification, and compliance, as constructive. The State Department said the issues under discussion "related to arms control and nonproliferation as part of ongoing efforts to maintain open lines of communication and responsibly manage the relationship." The State Department also said it, "emphasized the importance of increased (Chinese) nuclear transparency and substantive engagement on practical measures to manage and reduce strategic risks across multiple domains, including nuclear and outer space," and "the need to promote stability, help avert an unconstrained arms race, and manage competition so that it does not veer into conflict."
Kuramitsu said the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the officials discussed the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, cooperation among the five nuclear-weapon states, nuclear security, nonproliferation and export control, compliance with the Biological Weapons Convention and the Chemical Weapons Convention, and outer space security and regular arms control. The meeting occurred as Beijing and Washington sought to find some common ground in the current geopolitical tug-of-war. The last bilateral meeting on arms control issues took place in 2018 in Beijing when Chinese and US officials "exchanged views" on their respective nuclear policies and on cooperation on nonproliferation, among other topics, said the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Among Washington's major current concerns is Beijing's nuclear weapons buildup, and its refusal to allow more transparency on nuclear programs. In its latest report on China's military power, the US Defense Department estimated that China will possess in excess of 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030 and will accelerate development of its intercontinental-range ballistic missiles.
The November meeting was followed by other high-level bilateral engagements, including between the U.S. secretary of state and the U.S. national security advisor with their Chinese counterparts. According to a readout by the White House on the Xi-Biden talks, the leaders agreed that their teams will follow-up their discussions with "continued high-level diplomacy and interactions, including visits in both directions and ongoing working-level consultations in key areas, including on"arms control and nonproliferation."
The news in the field of international relations brings nothing but bad news - Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine, China's rise (it doesn't look peaceful), Hamas' barbaric attack on Israel, and Israel's controversial reaction. Let's hope our leaders can bring us some good news through quality arms control! Perhaps all the talk will do us some good in the end.
Jason Sibert is the Lead Writer of the Peace Economy Project
