China suspends arms control talks with Washington

Responsibility for the breakdown “lies fully with the US,” a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry has said

China has frozen arms control talks with the US in response to Washington’s continued weapons sales to Taiwan, the Chinese Foreign Ministry has said.

The US and China held a long-awaited round of nuclear non-proliferation talks in November, the first such meeting since 2018. While the talks produced no concrete results, they were seen as a crucial step in defusing tensions between the two superpowers, after Beijing severed almost all military communication with Washignton a year earlier, over then US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.

Speaking at a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said that China would not discuss a new round of consultations with the US.

“The responsibility fully lies with the US,” Lin explained. “Over the past weeks and months, despite China’s firm opposition and repeated protest, the US has continued to sell arms to Taiwan and done things that severely undermine China’s core interests and the mutual trust between China and the US.”

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“This has seriously compromised the political atmosphere for continuing the arms control consultations,” he said. 

The US State Department has authorized more than a billion dollars worth of weapons sales to Taiwan since the last round of US-China arms control talks, according to figures from the Defense Security Cooperation Agency. Most recently, the department approved the sale of hundreds of Altius-600M and Switchblade kamikaze drones to Taipei, prompting Beijing to impose sanctions on US arms giant Lockheed Martin.

China considers Taiwan a part of its sovereign territory, a position referred to as the ‘One China’ principle. The US recognizes, but does not endorse, this policy. Beijing views American arms sales to Taipei, expressions of support for Taiwanese independence, and pledges of military assistance to Taiwan as violations of the ‘One China’ principle.

China maintains that it will peacefully reunify Taiwan with the Chinese mainland, while reserving the right to use military force if necessary.

Lin did not rule out a return to nuclear negotiations in the future. “China stands ready to maintain communication with the US on international arms control… but the US must respect China’s core interests and create necessary conditions for dialogue and exchange,” he said at Wednesday’s briefing.