Beijing: A senior Chinese arms control official called the US pressure to join nuclear arms talks with Russia an American ploy to avoid signing a new deal, and said Beijing would gladly participate if Washington would agree to parity among all three nations.
"I can assure you that if the US. says that they are ready to come down to the Chinese level, Beijing will be happy to participate the next day," Fu Cong, the director general of the foreign ministry's arms control department, said. "But actually, we know that its not going to happen."
Fu spoke to journalists in Beijing after the US pointedly noted the Chinese absence at talks with Russia in Vienna two weeks ago on extending or replacingNEW Start, a 2010 arms reduction treaty that expires in Feburary.
The pact is between the US and Russia, long the world's major nuclear powers. The Trump administration wants China, as a rising military power, to join.
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Fu called that demand unrealistic because China has a much smaller nuclear arsenal than the other two. By inviting Beijing to join, the US is creating a pretext to walk away from the talks without replacing the treaty, he said.
"The real purpose is to get rid of all the restrictions and have a free hand in seeking military superiority over any adversary, real or imagined," he said of U.S. intentions.
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