China's Foreign Ministry has expressed deep regret over the US withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. Officials warn it will affect global strategic stability, the peace and security of Europe and the Asia Pacific Region, as well as increasing the risk of an arms race.  CGTN's Liu Yang reports.

China has a very clear stance. The Director-General of the Department of Arms Control and Disarmament from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday that China is not interested in participating in the trilateral negotiations proposed by the US, between America, Russia, and China. He calls the US withdrawal from the I-N-F Treaty another act of unilateralism, and withdrawal from its international obligations. China is extremely concerned about the remarks of some senior officials of the US government, who are saying they will push for an early deployment of missiles in Asia.

FU CONG, DIRECTOR GENERAL OF DEPT. OF ARMS CONTROL & DISARMAMENT MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS "Let me be very clear, we are firmly opposed to the US deployment of the intermediate-range missiles in the Asia Pacific region. If that happened, China will be forced to take countermeasures. So we call on the US to exercise restraint, and our neighbours to excise in prudence, in not allowing the US to deploy the missiles in their territories."

On Saturday, US President Donald Trump said he wants a new nuclear pact to be signed by both Russia and China. His comments came after the withdrawal, and raised fears of a new arms race. Fu Cong emphasized that China will not participate in any arms race. He said that given the huge gap between the Chinese nuclear arsenal, and that of the US and the Russian Federation, it is unreasonable and unfair to expect China to join in at this stage.  

GUO XIAOBING, DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH CENTER OF ARMS CONTROL CHINA INSTITUTES OF CONTEMPORARY INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS "One of the pressing issues for China is having a dialogue with the relevant parties involved. The intermediate range missiles and intercontinental ballistic missiles are different. The intermediate range missiles have a closer range, the flight time is shorter. Therefore it's necessary to call on relevant parties to talk about the possibility of a nuclear crisis triggered by the missiles."

The demise of the INF treaty is raising concerns that other nuclear agreements may fall apart, including the multilateral Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and the New START-- the US-Russia Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty -- set to expire in 2021. 

LIU YANG BEIJING "Experts point out that the possible deployment of the land-based, medium range weapons by the US in the Pacific region is not only a threat to China, it also could affect the relations between China and US allies in this region. The US withdrawal from the INF Treaty also has a negative impact on resolving the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, and weakens the argument against a nuclear program on the peninsula. Liu Yang, CGTN, Beijing."