Trump aiming for a trilateral agreement? The new move vis-à-vis China and Russia

The US administration is discussing the possibility of reciprocal visits to nuclear sites with China, amid concerns over its rapid nuclear buildup. China raised the idea but refuses to discuss limiting its arsenal. The US seeks a trilateral agreement with Russia, but China remains adamant in its refusal. Experts warn of a dangerous period with few restraints.

The US administration under President Donald Trump is discussing the possibility of initiating reciprocal visits to nuclear sites with China, aiming to promote confidence-building measures. The discussions, which have been informal and preliminary, come amid growing US concerns over China's rapidly developing nuclear weapons program, following the expiration of the last arms control agreement between the US and Russia last year. The idea of reciprocal visits was initially raised by the Chinese in a meeting with US officials earlier this year. Visits to the national laboratories of the US Department of Energy and corresponding facilities in China were discussed. The US seeks to advance a trilateral arms control agreement, but China remains adamant in its refusal to discuss limiting its nuclear buildup. While the US currently has a much larger nuclear arsenal with about 5,000 warheads, China has about 600, but is rapidly expanding its nuclear weapons infrastructure. Paul Dean, a former US assistant secretary of state, said reciprocal visits would be "a very important confidence-building measure." However, skeptics noted that the Chinese may have raised the idea out of "malicious motivation." Trump expressed support for trilateral negotiations in his meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping last month. The US administration accused China of conducting a secret nuclear test in 2020, and in response, the NNSA conducted a non-nuclear underground explosion last week. Gerald Brown, a China military researcher, said China's nuclear buildup is linked to its ambitions regarding Taiwan.