China shoots down Trump’s nuclear weapons plan

China has pushed back at President Donald Trump‘s proposed denuclearization talks, quipping that he should put “America First” when it comes to arms reduction.

Newsweek reached out to the White House by email with a request for comment.

Why It Matters

Trump has called for China and Russia to join the U. S.—the world’s top defense spender—in talks aimed at eventually reducing their respective nuclear stockpiles as well as military budgets by up to 50 percent.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday welcomed the notion and extended an invitation to his Chinese counterpart to weigh up such a commitment as well.

What To Know

During the Chinese Defense Ministry’s monthly press conference on Thursday, spokesperson Wu Qian issued a challenge to the Trump administration, pointing out that the U.S. boasts both the largest defense budget and a top nuclear stockpile.

“I believe that the U.S. should put into practice ‘America First’ in this regard, and be the first to cut its nuclear arsenal and military expenditure,” the spokesperson said.

He added that China maintains a no-first-use policy when it comes to its nuclear arsenal and “keeps our nuclear strength at the minimum level required for national security.”

Total global military spending reached $2.46 trillion in 2024, according to a February 12 report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), a London-based think tank. China announced a $236 billion defense budget for the year, a 7.2 percent increase.

However, some analysts argue that unreported expenditures significantly inflate the real figure, with the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) estimating it at $711 billion—placing it not far behind the U.S.’s $850 billion defense budget.

The Pentagon considers China its top strategic challenge, as Beijing rapidly expands its nuclear arsenal to achieve President Xi Jinping‘s goal of a “world-class” military to rival U.S. might by 2049.

While China’s official warhead count remains far below U.S. and Russian thousands-strong stockpiles, the Pentagon estimates Beijing now possesses around 600 warheads, with projections indicating it could surpass 1,000 by the end of the decade.

What People Are Saying

Donald Trump, U.S. president, told reporters on February 13: “There’s no reason for us to be building brand-new nuclear weapons. We already have so many. You could destroy the world 50 times over, 100 times over. And here we are building new nuclear weapons, and they’re building nuclear weapons.”

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, a Chicago-based nonprofit organization, wrote in a Monday report: “The Trump administration could renew [U.S. President Ronald] Reagan’s crowning achievement by negotiating with Russia and China to limit the growing numbers of new nuclear weapons in the world today. The president has the opportunity to push the United States and other nuclear-weapon states to abide by their disarmament promises regarding nuclear weapons. Should he succeed, Trump could even win a Nobel Peace Prize—becoming just the fifth U.S. president to do so.”

What Happens Next?

Trump has not provided details on when or how he expects talks on nuclear arms or military spending reductions to unfold. For now, his administration appears focused on bringing an end to the three-year war in Ukraine.