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The newspaper La Jornada
Thursday, July 18, 2024, p. 23

Beijing. China announced yesterday that it is suspending negotiations with the United States on nuclear weapons control and non-proliferation in response to Washington’s arms sales to the island of Taiwan.

The United States and China held rare talks on the issue in November as part of a strategy to improve relations ahead of a summit between their respective presidents, Joe Biden and Xi Jinping.

No new negotiations have been announced since then, and a senior White House official said in January that China had not responded to its overtures. risk reduction.

The United States has continued its arms sales to Taiwan and taken a series of negative actions that seriously harm China’s core interests and undermine mutual political trust.said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian.

For this reason, China decided to suspend negotiations with the United States on a new round of consultations on arms control and non-proliferation.

China considers Taiwan part of its territory and has never renounced using force to take control of it.

Although the United States switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, it remains Taiwan’s main international supporter and largest arms supplier.

In a report to Congress in October, the Pentagon warned that China was developing its nuclear arsenal faster than the United States anticipated.

As of May 2023, China had more than 500 operational nuclear warheads, according to the Pentagon, which predicted that number would exceed 1,000 by 2030. The United States considered regrettable China’s decision, according to State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, was sabotages strategic stability.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimates China’s nuclear warheads at 410, far from the United States’ 3,700 and Russia’s nearly 4,500.