BEIJING, February 5. /TASS/. Beijing cannot join nuclear disarmament talks at this stage due to the gap in nuclear capabilities with the US, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lin Jian said at a briefing, commenting on Washington’s calls for China to participate in such efforts.

"China’s nuclear forces are at a different level compared with those of the US. At this stage, China cannot participate in negotiations on nuclear disarmament," the spokesman said. According to the diplomat, "China has consistently advocated that nuclear disarmament should advance in accordance with the principles of maintaining global strategic stability."

The US has repeatedly stated that it considers it necessary to develop new nuclear disarmament mechanisms involving Beijing alongside Washington and Moscow. The Chinese Embassy in Washington told TASS that Beijing considers the US desire to involve China in the Russia-US nuclear arms reduction process at this stage unfair and unreasonable. This was the embassy’s response to a recent appeal by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The Russia-US New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) expired on February 5. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Moscow believes that under the current conditions, the parties are no longer bound by any obligations under the treaty and are free to choose their next steps. Russia intends to act "responsibly and in a balanced manner," shaping its approach to strategic arms reduction based on a thorough analysis of US military policy and the overall strategic situation, the ministry added.