The Chinese government this week appeared to throw cold water on an Oval Office proposal by President Trump for nuclear arms talks with Moscow and Beijing, and an eventual halving of defense spending by all three nations.
On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow is ready to discuss Mr. Trump’s suggestion of mutual defense budget cuts of 50% and that he believed China could join three-way talks on the reductions.
Asked about Mr. Putin’s comment during a press briefing in Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian did not answer directly and defended the pace of Beijing’s defense spending and its buildup of weapons and forces.
China’s “limited defense spending is completely out of the need of safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests, and the need of maintaining world peace,” Mr. Lin said in dismissing the prospect of Beijing joining in on cuts.
Instead, Mr. Lin said global defense spending in recent years had steadily increased and is at an all-time high amid growing regional tensions.
The Pentagon’s latest report on the Chinese military estimates that the People’s Liberation Army is spending 40% to 90% more on the military than its announced expenditures. For 2024, that spending was around $330 billion to $450 billion, the report said. Adm. Sam Paparo, commander of the Indo-Pacific Command, said in October that the PLA military buildup is the world’s largest expansion of armed forces since World War II.
The U.S. defense budget is more than $900 billion this year.
Mr. Putin said Russia is ready to discuss halving its defense spending, the state news agency TASS reported: “A 50% reduction in military budgets by both countries would be a good idea,” he said.Mr. Trump told reporters on Feb. 13 that the U.S. military is rebuilding and that he had authorized substantial contracts for new weapons.
But he then decried the hundreds of billions of dollars being spent to modernize the aging U.S. nuclear arsenal. He said he would prefer a deal with U.S. adversaries so that all could cut spending.
At some point, Mr. Trump said he would like to meet with leaders of China and Russia and tell them there’s no reason for the United States to be spending nearly $1 trillion on defense, or for China to be spending $400 billion.
“As soon as things settle down, I’m going to have that conference, primarily with China and Russia, because those are the two that really are out there.”
Nuclear disarmament talks including China eluded the first Trump administration. Beijing refused, arguing that its much smaller nuclear arsenal was not up for negotiation unless sharp cuts were made first in U.S. and Russian strategic forces.
China is currently engaged in what the U.S. Strategic Command calls nuclear “breakout” — an alarming and rapid nuclear weapons buildup. From about 200 warheads several years ago, the PLA now has 600 and is expected to have over 1,000 in the next few years.
The emphasis on cutting defense spending and limiting the large-scale U.S. nuclear modernization needed to deter adversaries like China and Russia appears at odds with Mr. Trump’s campaign pledge to rebuild the military and build a “peace through strength” posture.
• Bill Gertz can be reached at bgertz@washingtontimes.com.