China shuns calls to enter nuclear talks after US-Russia treaty lapses

Campaigners have warned allowing the treaty to lapse could unleash a new nuclear arms race. © Handout / Russian Defence Ministry/AFP

Beijing (AFP) – China rejected calls to enter talks on a new nuclear treaty after a US-Russian agreement expired on Thursday, ending decades of restrictions on how many warheads the two powers can deploy.

Campaigners have warned that the expiry of the New START treaty could trigger a global arms race, urging nuclear powers to enter negotiations.