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China has pressed pause on arms control and nuclear proliferation talks with the US, blaming the suspension on US arms sales to Taiwan.
Taiwan's independence has been a decadeslong grievance for China's Communist rulers. The island declared its independence from the mainland in 1949 when nationalist rebels fled there after the Communists won the civil war.
However, China claims that Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to attack it if it doesn't cede control.
In a press briefing in Beijing on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Chinese government said that the US's arms sales to Taiwan had "seriously compromised the political atmosphere for continuing the arms-control consultations."
"The responsibility fully lies with the US," he said.
US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller addressed the situation at a press briefing, calling it "unfortunate".
"China has chosen to follow Russia's lead in asserting that engagement on arms control can't proceed when there are other challenges in the bilateral relationship. We think this approach undermines strategic stability. It increases the risk of arms race dynamics," he said.
US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping began talks on nuclear proliferation and arms control in November, ahead of the first formal dialogue between the US and China in five years.
Ali Wyne, senior research and advocacy advisor at the International Crisis Group, told Business Insider that this latest decision is unlikely to affect US support of Taiwan.
"The suspension is disappointing given how essential it is for the world's two most powerful countries to have substantive discussions on strategic stability," said Wyne.
"Even so, considering that the talks were in their nascent stages and occurring against the backdrop of a deteriorating bilateral relationship, it is unlikely that either US or Chinese officials had high expectations for them."
A 2023 Pentagon report estimated that China had increased its arsenal of operational nuclear warheads to about 500, is likely to possess more than 1,000 warheads by 2030, and will continue growing its force until 2035.
The upcoming US elections in November will be critical toward setting the agenda for future talks.
A YouGov poll has shown that Donald Trump holds a two percentage point lead over Biden.
Analysts from the Brookings Institution have estimated that a potential Trump presidency could escalate a US-China trade war.
Trump's newly announced Vice President pick, JD Vance, has been vocal about China's relationship with Taiwan, saying in a speech last year that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan could be "catastrophic for this country."
"It would decimate our entire economy where the computer chips, so much of those are made in Taiwan."
Representatives for Biden and Jinping did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
