China says suspended nuclear talks with US over arms sales to Taiwan
China has suspended negotiations with the United States on nuclear arms control in response to Washington’s weapons sales to Taiwan.
For the first time in years, the US and China held discussions on nuclear non-proliferation and arms control in Washington in November
Further dialogue had not been publicly announced since, with a White House official urging Beijing in January to respond "to some of our more substantive ideas on risk reduction."
China's foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said in a statement on Wednesday that recent US sales of arms to Taiwan were "seriously undermining the political atmosphere for continued arms control consultations between the two sides.”
He said that Washington 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.”
“For this reason,” Lin said, “China has decided to suspend negotiations with the United States.”
China has sovereignty over the self-ruled island. Under the “One China” policy, almost all world countries recognize that sovereignty, meaning that they would not establish diplomatic contact with the island's secessionist government.
The US does not formally recognize Taiwan but continues to back its secessionist government, support its anti-China position, and supplies it with billions of dollars in weapons.
In June, the Joe Biden administration approved two military sales to Taiwan worth approximately $300 million in total, mostly of spare and repair parts for the island's F-16 fighter jets.
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