U.S. Seeking Deal To Reduce Nuclear Risk With China

The United States continues to try to find ways to reduce nuclear and security risks with China through bilateral dialogue as well as under the so-called "P5 Process," the US State Department's top arms control official Bonnie Jenkins said during a telephone interview with Masakatsu Ota of Kyodo News.

Photo Insert: Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, Bonnie Jenkins

The remarks by the undersecretary of state for arms control and international security came several days after the US, Russia, China, France, and Britain issued a joint statement affirming that a war involving nuclear weapons must be avoided and that such armaments should serve defensive purposes and deter aggression.

The five nuclear weapon states are permanent members of the UN Security Council, called the "P5," with each wielding veto power over crucial decisions related to international security.

"First of all, having a P5 and having them in that discussion is very helpful," Jenkins said while emphasizing the significance of the rare joint statement that reiterated a historical message issued in 1985 by then US President Ronald Reagan and then Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. The two leaders declared that "a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought," which was repeated by the recent P5 joint statement.

The timing is important because the US-China confrontation has intensified over the past few years and China appears to be expanding its nuclear arsenal to increase its nuclear deterrence and political leverage against Washington.

"President (Joe) Biden and (Chinese) President Xi (Jinping) had an opportunity to have a brief conversation about future bilateral work. It's something that I know I'm very interested in. I know my US colleagues remain very interested in finding ways in which we can work with China to establish some kind of transparency and opportunity to reduce risk and miscalculation," Jenkins said.

She referred to an online summit of the two leaders last November, during which Biden raised the necessity to set up a "guardrail" to control tough military competition between the US and China.

In June last year, Biden agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin to establish a bilateral Strategic Stability Dialogue (SSD), which Biden wants to lead to a future nuclear arms reduction treaty. However, the US and China have not created a similar type of bilateral mechanism so far.

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