For the first time in a long time, the United States and China will now meet to discuss nuclear weapons, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The meeting takes place before the meeting between the leaders of the major powers Joe Biden and Xi Jinping.
The talks will likely be about, among other things, “more effective crisis communication channels”, according to Daryl Kimball, head of the organization Arms Control Association.
On Monday, the US and China will meet at a meeting in Washington to discuss, among other things, nuclear weapons, reports say The Wall Street Journal. The meeting will be chaired by Mallory Stewart, a senior official at the US State Department, as well as Sun Xiaobo, director of arms control at the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
It is the first time since Barack Obama was president of the United States that the countries meet for such a meeting, according to the newspaper.
US concerns over Chinese nuclear weapons
The meeting has been organized after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Washington last week. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated earlier this week that the countries will meet for “talks on arms control and non-proliferation”.
In recent years, several US officials and politicians have expressed frustration and concern that China has shown little interest in discussing measures to reduce the risk of nuclear weapons.
During the fall, the Pentagon presented a new report on the threat from China. The report states that China has over 500 nuclear weapons and that the number will likely increase to over 1,000 by 2030.
At the same time, China has repeatedly expressed concern over the large number of nuclear weapons on American soil.
“We shouldn’t expect a breakthrough”
The news agency Reuters has spoken to Daryl Kimball, head of the Arms Control Association. He says the talks between the US and China will likely focus on greater transparency regarding the countries’ nuclear weapons doctrines as well as “more effective crisis communication channels”.
– However, I don’t think we should expect a breakthrough in the near future. It will take time and require both sides to give and take, he says.
The talks take place ahead of the expected meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping later this autumn.