Nuclear arms control consultation helps stabilize ties: China Daily editorial

The China-US consultations on nuclear arms control and nonproliferation are a timely manifestation of reason in these troubled times.

They come when there are widespread and growing fears of a renewed nuclear arms race amid the repeated mention of nuclear weapons in relation to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine and with the fate of the nuclear arms control pact between Russia and the United States hanging in the balance.

According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the two governments' department-level officials will discuss "the implementation of international arms control treaties and proliferation prevention", among other things, with talks on maritime affairs and other issues to be held in parallel.

Although some have described Beijing's willingness to engage in such consultations as a "break" from its long-standing position, it actually is not.

Beijing was reluctant to join nuclear arms talks as Washington proposed they be trilateral talks with Moscow also participating. Since China has a nuclear arsenal that is not comparable in size with those of Russia and the US, its being considerably smaller, and its nuclear weapons being purely for defense purposes, Beijing considered trilateral talks inappropriate.

Beijing's participation in such consultations is consistent with its sense of responsibility. It is willing to participate in the current China-US consultations, as they do not, as the White House stated, resemble the kind of arms reduction talks between the US and Russia.

More likely than not, the nuclear arms control talks between China and the US will focus more on transparency and crisis communication: The Joe Biden administration is reportedly anxious for more clarity about China's nuclear policy; and Beijing would no doubt like some clarification as to what Washington is up to when it comes to its perpetual urge to expand and upgrade its unrivaled nuclear arsenal.

So instead of the kind of specific quotas that are the usual outcomes of the US-Russia talks on nuclear arms control, these consultations between China and the US will be broader and more intention-based in scope.

There has been a tendency to read the consultations as a display of goodwill meant to pave way for the mooted meeting between the two countries' leaders in San Francisco during the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting. But their real significance goes far beyond that.

As part of the ongoing bilateral efforts to stabilize the countries' strained relations, such engagement is conducive to reducing strategic misunderstanding and potential misjudgment. It may be too optimistic to talk about strategic mutual trust between Beijing and Washington. But at least such communication can help reduce the risks of a catastrophic button press.