China regrets the end of the US-Russian nuclear arms control agreement

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian (ANTARA/Desca Lidya Natalia)

JAKARTA - The Chinese government regrets the end of the nuclear arms control agreement between the United States and Russia, known as New START, while stressing that it does not intend to be bound by a similar agreement.

"From China's point of view, the end of the New START Treaty is really regrettable, but China's nuclear power is not at all equal to the US or Russia. Therefore, China will not participate in nuclear disarmament negotiations for the time being," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian at a press conference in Beijing, Thursday, February 5. reported by ANTARA.

The nuclear arms control agreement between the US and Russia called New START, which stands for the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, has expired as of February 4, 2026.

The agreement limits the number of US and Russian strategic nuclear warheads to 1,550 units, respectively, and limits the number of strategic delivery vehicles and systems - such as heavy bombers, ICBMs, and SLBMs - to 800 units.

"This agreement is very important for global strategic stability, and there are widespread concerns about its impact on the international nuclear arms control system and the global nuclear order after the agreement expires," Lin Jianseraya added.

"China hopes that the US will actively respond to Russia's proposal, find a responsible solution to the termination of the agreement, and resume strategic stability dialogue with Russia as soon as possible. This is also what the world wants to see," Lin Jian continued.

Lin Jian stressed that China follows a defensive nuclear strategy and a "no first use" policy and pledged unconditionally not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon states and nuclear-weapon-free zones.

"China maintains its nuclear capabilities at the minimum level required by national security, and has no intention of engaging in an arms race with any country," Lin Jian said.

China, said Lin Jian, believes nuclear disarmament should follow the principles of "maintaining global strategic stability" and "undiminished security for all."

The New START agreement provides transparency measures to avoid misjudging each other's intentions through data transfers, notifications and on-site inspections.

New START is a 10-year agreement signed by then-US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in 2010 and came into force on February 5, 2011.

The agreement was extended in 2021 for another five years after US President Joe Biden took office and Russia was led by President Vladimir Putin and ended on February 4, 2026. The end of the agreement means that Moscow and Washington will be free to increase the number of missiles and deploy hundreds of strategic warheads again, although this poses logistical challenges and will take time.

Prior to the New START agreement, there was a START agreement signed in 1991 by the US and the Soviet Union containing a ban on each signatory country from deploying more than 6,000 nuclear warheads in force until 2009.

In January 2025, it is known that Russia has 4,309 nuclear warheads, and the US has 3,700. France and Britain, which are US allies bound by the treaty, have 290 and 225 respectively, while China has about 600.

The end of New START could also threaten the 1970 nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) which contains an agreement for non-nuclear weapon states to promise not to have nuclear weapons as long as the weapon-owning states make good faith efforts to disarm.