China invited to nuclear talks with Russia and US, says Donald Trump’s arms control envoy
- The announcement comes as a nuclear arms reduction treaty between Washington and Moscow – the New START Treaty – is set to expire in February
- Last month, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said that Beijing has ‘no intention’ to join any trilateral arms control talks
US President Donald Trump’s top arms control envoy said on Monday that China has been invited to attend an upcoming round of nuclear negotiations between the US and Russia, despite Beijing’s continued insistence that it has no interest in attending such talks.
“Today agreed with the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov on time and place for nuclear arms negotiations in June,” Marshall Billingslea, Trump’s special presidential envoy for arms control, tweeted on Monday. “China also invited.”
“Will China show and negotiate in good faith?” he said.
The announcement comes as a decade-old nuclear arms reduction treaty between Washington and Moscow – the New START Treaty – is set to expire in February. Russia has said that any upcoming negotiations should deal with the bilateral treaty before it runs out.
The Trump administration has shown some openness to the idea of extending the agreement, which has led to both countries shrinking the size of their nuclear arsenals, but has also emphasised that China must now take a seat at the negotiating table too.