NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that by 2035 China will have 1.5 thousand nuclear warheads and the alliance needs to prepare for a “more dangerous and competitive” world order in the future.
“Russia is an immediate threat to our security. But the broader global security landscape is also alarming. China is rapidly building up its nuclear arsenal without any transparency about its capabilities…In the long term, we need to rethink and adapt our approach to a more dangerous and competitive world. And that means engaging with China, which is estimated to have 1,500 warheads by 2035,” Stoltenberg said at the 18th NATO Conference on Arms Control, Disarmament and Nonproliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction.
The event will be held until April 20 under the auspices of the North Atlantic Alliance and the U.S. State Department. Washington will be represented at the event by Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman, who also intends to make welcoming remarks to the participants.
According to the alliance, the conference “will provide an opportunity for officials to discuss threats from weapons of mass destruction in an informal setting.” The forum regularly gathers more than 150 participants from about 50 countries, and this year is the first time it is taking place in North America. With the exception of welcoming speeches, all events are expected to be private.
On Tuesday, G7 foreign ministers called on China to immediately begin a dialogue with the United States to reduce strategic risks. The G7 countries are concerned about “China’s continued and accelerating expansion of its nuclear arsenal and the development of increasingly sophisticated delivery systems” without adequate transparency.
Also on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said that the G7 countries arbitrarily criticize other countries’ nuclear policies, while constantly undermining the international nuclear disarmament system themselves.