Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Bilateral arms control between the United States and Russia now rests entirely on New START, which will expire in 2026 if not sooner. What steps could build on this treaty, and how can China and other nuclear states be brought into the arms control process?
The Nuclear Weapons States (NWS) are under-utilizing the P5 Process, endangering global efforts to promote disarmament through transparency and confidence-building measures. If reinvigorated, however, the Process has the potential to make greater contributions to arms control.
While China may not think it has an interest in participating in major-power arms control now, pressures are building for it to do so. If Washington wants to engage constructively with Beijing, it should focus on concrete proposals to manage competition.
New START is the last nuclear arms control pact left between the United States and Russia. If it isn’t extended, there will be no limits on either countries’ nuclear arsenals for the first time in decades.
The New START Treaty provides a framework for limiting the most worrisome of Russia’s new nuclear weapons systems.
The potential collapse of the New START Treaty between the United States and Russia poses significant implications for Chinese nuclear thinking