U.S. President Trump once again discussed the idea of negotiating nuclear disarmament with China and Russia.
According to a report by Reuters on October 16th, Trump said in an interview with the American conservative news channel Newsmax on October 15th that he hopes to promote the reduction or even elimination of nuclear weapons. He also claimed that the United States is discussing issues related to 'denuclearization' with Russia and China. He further speculated that China's nuclear capabilities could 'catch up' with those of the United States within the next five years.
"The whole matter is regrettable, because if it were possible, I would very much like to achieve nuclear-free status. In fact, we are discussing this with Russia and also China in terms of achieving a nuclear-free state."
Newsmax reported that Trump also said he had discussed nuclear disarmament with the Chinese side.
However, Reuters did not disclose the specific details of the so-called discussion on nuclear disarmament between the United States, China, and Russia. It also did not mention whether a formal negotiation mechanism has been established among the three parties. As of the time of publication, neither China nor Russia have made any public responses to Trump’s latest remarks.
Trump made this statement at a time when the global nuclear arms control system is facing new uncertainties.
In February of this year, the last major nuclear arms control treaty between the United States and Russia—the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty— expired.
The treaty was signed by the United States and Russia in 2010, and came into effect officially in 2011. It stipulates that the number of strategic nuclear warheads deployed by both parties shall not exceed 1550, and restrictions are also imposed on strategic delivery vehicles.
In 2021, then-U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to extend the treaty for five years, until February 5, 2026. According to the treaty, this extension opportunity is only available once.
The expiration of the treaty means that the legal restrictions on the number of strategic nuclear weapons deployed by the United States and Russia have been lost within the framework of the original treaty.
Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire for China to join the nuclear arms negotiations between the US and Russia.
In May of this year, after his visit to China, Trump said in an interview on Air Force One that he discussed nuclear disarmament with the Chinese side.
When asked by reporters whether China had made any specific commitments, Trump said that he did not want to say which side had made such commitments, but that both sides had a good understanding of the concept of nuclear disarmament.
After the meeting between Chinese and American leaders on September 24 this year, the White House issued a statement stating that Trump advocated for tripartite arms control negotiations among the United States, Russia, and China. However, the information about the meeting released by the Chinese side did not mention this topic.
Now, Trump has reiterated these claims in an interview with Newsmax, but he still has not specified the details of the negotiations or the possible agreements that could be reached.
Trump also said in the interview that he expects China to "catch up" with the United States within the next five years.
However, this judgment shows a clear difference from the currently available estimates of the number of nuclear weapons.
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) published its ‘2026 Yearbook’ in June this year. According to the report, as of January 2026, nine countries worldwide that possess nuclear weapons have a total of approximately 12,187 nuclear warheads. Of these, around 9,745 warheads are in military stockpiles.
The United States and Russia still possess the majority of nuclear weapons inventories. According to estimates by SIPRI, both countries together own approximately 83% of the world's military nuclear warheads.
In contrast, China has approximately 620 nuclear warheads, which is significantly smaller in scale compared to the United States and Russia.
SIPRI believes that China is progressing with the modernization of its nuclear forces, but this does not mean that China’s total number of nuclear warheads will reach the United States' current level within five years.
This institution points out that with the expiry of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty between the US and Russia, uncertainty about the future scale of strategic nuclear forces in the United States and Russia is increasing.
For a long time, China has emphasized that nuclear disarmament must be carried out in accordance with the principle of maintaining global strategic stability and ensuring that the security of all countries is not compromised. The significant differences in the scale of nuclear forces among countries cannot be ignored.
Regarding the United States' proposal for nuclear disarmament negotiations among China, the United States, and Russia, China has repeatedly stated its position on this issue.
In April this year, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs released the “Report on China's Implementation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty”, which clearly stated that China's nuclear force is not on a comparable level to that of the United States and Russia.
The report emphasizes that in the current international security environment, asking China to participate in the so-called trilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations between China, the United States, and Russia at this stage is neither fair nor reasonable, and certainly not practical.
The Chinese side believes that the country with the largest nuclear arsenal should continue to fulfill its special and priority responsibilities in nuclear disarmament. It should make significant and substantial reductions in its nuclear arsenal in a verifiable, irreversible manner, and in a legally binding way, thereby creating conditions for the ultimate achievement of comprehensive and thorough nuclear disarmament.
On February 11 this year, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian also stated regarding the US nuclear policy that the United States possesses a large arsenal of nuclear weapons and should earnestly fulfill its special and priority responsibilities in nuclear disarmament.
Lin Jian said that China hopes the United States will resume strategic stability dialogues with Russia and discuss arrangements after the expiration of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.
He also emphasized that China has always adhered to a path of peaceful development, adopted a nuclear strategy focused on self-defense, and its nuclear policy has maintained high stability and continuity.
China has always advocated for a complete ban on and thorough destruction of nuclear weapons, and promotes the commitment by nuclear weapon states to not use nuclear weapons first.
Trump has once again suggested discussing nuclear disarmament with China and Russia. However, given that the size of their nuclear arsenals far exceeds that of China, it is still too early to say how these three-way nuclear arms control negotiations will unfold and whether arrangements acceptable to all parties can be reached.
