Does China want to join a nuclear treaty with the US and Russia?
Trump and Putin spoke by phone about the possibility of establishing an agreement involving China to reduce nuclear warheads.
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US President Trump in Washington on May 1st. (Photo):Reuters. |
"We discussed a nuclear deal that could lead to us manufacturing fewer and fewer, and even eliminating, some of the formidable weapons we possess," U.S. President Trump told reporters at the White House on May 3 about his more than hour-long phone call with Russian President Putin.
Trump and Putin discussed the possibility of turning it into a three-way agreement with China. He added that Beijing "would be very keen to be a part of that agreement."
Trump said he had raised the topic in trade negotiations and that China was "more enthusiastic about this than about trade."
Earlier this month, in a meeting with China's trade envoy, Trump complained about the military spending of major powers, suggesting that the money could be better spent on other things. "It would be so much better if we all got together and didn't build these weapons," he said.
Although Trump expressed a desire for arms control, he supported the $500 billion nuclear arsenal modernization project from the Obama era, withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty signed by the US and the Soviet Union in 1987, which prohibited both sides from developing any type of ground-launched cruise missile with a range of 500-5,500 km.
The US is considering a military budget of over $718 billion in 2020, even though its national debt has exceeded $22 trillion and continues to rise. China's military budget in 2019 was estimated at around $224 billion, while Russia's military budget was $44 billion.
