China announced on Wednesday that it has suspended negotiations with the United States on nuclear non-proliferation and arms control, citing Washington’s recent weapons sales to Taiwan. The U.S. State Department called the decision “unfortunate.”
In November, the U.S. and China held rare talks on nuclear arms control, aiming to reduce mistrust ahead of a summit between President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping. However, no further dialogue had been publicly announced since then. In January, a White House official urged Beijing to respond to “some of our more substantive ideas on risk reduction.”
China’s foreign ministry stated on Wednesday that the recent U.S. arms sales to self-ruled Taiwan had “seriously undermined the political atmosphere for continued arms control consultations between the two sides.”
“The U.S. has continued its arms sales to Taiwan and taken a series of negative actions that seriously damage China’s core interests and undermine political mutual trust,” said foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian.
“As a result, China has decided to suspend negotiations with the United States on a new round of arms control and non-proliferation consultations,” Lin added.
The United States switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979 but has remained Taiwan’s most important partner and largest arms supplier, leading to repeated condemnations from China. In June, Washington approved two military sales to Taiwan worth approximately $300 million, mostly consisting of spare and repair parts for the island’s F-16 fighter jets.