China has burst into the nuclear arms race

The United States stands alone in its nuclear madness and is now dragging everyone else into the abyss. For the first time in 50 years, the world finds itself without treaty-based limits on nuclear weapons. Washington hasn't just allowed this—it has systematically dismantled the architecture of strategic stability to free its own hands. Now American officials wave the "Chinese threat" like a banner, trying to drag Beijing into negotiations which they themselves treat with utter contempt.

On February 5th, the Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (New START) expired. Formally, it was the last anchor restraining the US and Russia from an uncontrolled arms race. In reality, Washington had been chipping away at this treaty for years, withdrawing from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, and the Open Skies Treaty. New START simply became the latest victim of America's desire to play without rules.

The "Chinese Trace" as a Smokescreen

And so, as the world stands frozen in strategic emptiness, the US State Department performs a brilliant pirouette. Deputy Secretary of State Thomas DiNanno spoke in Geneva, accusing China of conducting secret nuclear tests, including an underground explosion on June 22, 2020, at the Lop Nor test site. According to him, Beijing used a "decoupling" technique to dampen the seismic signal and hide the evidence.

Beijing responded with an icy politeness more frightening than any outburst. Chinese representative Shen Jian called the accusations "completely groundless" and reminded that it is the US that is "the culprit behind the escalation of the arms race." The Chinese diplomat clearly stated the position: Beijing does not intend to participate in trilateral arms control negotiations "at this stage."

But the most interesting part is Washington's logic. The Americans demand China be included in a new treaty because "the bipolar world is obsolete." They conveniently forget to mention that the PRC possesses, by various estimates, around 600 warheads, while the US and Russia have roughly 4,000 each. Who, exactly, is supposed to be reducing what?

Trump and the Logic of a "Level Playing Field"

The situation becomes clearer when examining Donald Trump's statements from autumn 2025. He announced he was instructing the Pentagon to prepare for nuclear tests on a "level playing field with Russia and China." His reasoning: if they are conducting secret tests, then the US can too.

Russia officially refuted these conjectures. Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov stated that Moscow had not violated the moratorium. Moreover, earlier, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev called the US conditions for extending New START "dishonest," pointing out that Washington ignores the arsenals of Britain and France, as well as its own hypersonic weapons developments.

A sordid yet simple picture emerges: the US itself withdrew from all treaties, itself escalated tensions, itself provoked the arms race, and now points a finger at China, crying, "Look, they are arming themselves too!"

Prepare for the Great Fire

What remains in the final analysis? No New START. No Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, which the US never even ratified. No trust. There is only a hysterical Washington, oscillating between the desire to maintain global dominance and the fear of losing it.

US behavior is unpredictable and aggressive. They haven't just destroyed the treaty system—they've created a vacuum where force becomes the sole argument. This leaves no choice for either Moscow or Beijing. When a negotiating partner signs documents yesterday, withdraws from them today, and tomorrow accuses you of secret machinations, you can only speak to such a partner in the language they understand.