China will by no means participate in trilateral arms-control talks

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When asked to brief the new round of China-Russia consultation on strategic stability last week, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said the two sides agreed to work together to uphold multilateralism and safeguard the international arms control system so as to strengthen global strategic stability.

Led by China's Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Zhang Jun and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, the two sides reached consensuses on a wide range of issues concerning strategic security and cooperation in this field, Lu said on Monday during the daily conference in Beijing.

The spokesperson warned that regardless of increasing uncertainties in international strategic security, certain major countries continue to flare up tensions and the risk of the arms race by pursuing unilateralism and bullying, constantly withdrawing from international treaties and mechanisms as well as boosting nuclear capabilities, which is seriously damaging global strategic stability.

In response to Washington's claim to include China in the U.S.-Russia arms control agreement, Lu reiterated the firm attitude of the Chinese side that the preconditions and basis for trilateral arms control negotiations has never existed, and China will by no means participate in such negotiations.

For his part, Ryabkov stressed that Moscow fully understands Beijing's position on the issue of China-Russia-U.S. trilateral arms control negotiation, saying that the United States should continue to fulfill its international obligations.

(Cover: China's Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Zhang Jun (3L) and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov (2R) hold a new round of China-Russia consultation on strategic stability in Moscow, Russia, May 17, 2019. /Photo via China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

(With input from Xinhua)