The US government asserts that with the expiration of the New START treaty, China has rapidly and opaquely increased its nuclear weapons stockpile, despite calls for a trilateral arms negotiation that Beijing has publicly rejected.
In early August, the US announced that the New START treaty— the last remaining arms control agreement between the US and Russia— had expired, which Washington claims opens the door for a better agreement that would include China. Despite mounting concerns, China has publicly dismissed calls for negotiations on a new trilateral treaty, raising tensions as military stockpiling continues unabated. Christopher Yeawas, a US State Department official focusing on arms control, made remarks during a disarmament conference in Geneva, stating that the New START treaty had serious flaws and failed to address China’s unprecedented, rapid, and opaque accumulation of nuclear weapons. He highlighted that, contrary to claims of restraint, China is deliberately and unencumberedly expanding its nuclear arsenal without transparency about its intentions or objectives. Yeawas further indicated that US officials believe China could achieve nuclear parity within the next four to five years, although he did not specify the criteria for such a parity. This development has significant implications for international security, potentially shifting the balance of power if China’s arsenal continues to grow without formal agreements or oversight, cementing the need for renewed diplomatic efforts to address nuclear arms reduction globally and ensuring stability among the world's nuclear powers.
