China on Monday strongly rejected claims by the United States that it conducted secret nuclear explosive tests, calling the allegations “outright lies” and accusing Washington of seeking excuses to restart its own nuclear trials.
The allegations were made last Friday at the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva by Thomas DiNanno, US Under Secretary of State for Arms Control, who accused China of carrying out a test on 22 June 2020 and preparing for additional tests with massive yields.
In response, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “The US allegations are completely groundless and are outright lies. China firmly opposes the US attempt to fabricate excuses for its own restarting of nuclear tests,” and urged the United States to “immediately stop its irresponsible actions.”
The comments come amid discussions of a new US proposal for three-way talks with Russia and China aimed at setting limits on nuclear weapons following the expiration of the New START treaty between Washington and Moscow, which ended last Thursday.
US President Donald Trump had announced in October that Washington would resume nuclear testing “on an equal basis” with Moscow and Beijing, though he did not provide details on the type of tests planned.
China has also reiterated that it will not join disarmament negotiations “at this stage,” maintaining its stance against resuming nuclear tests while rejecting claims of past secret tests.
The escalating rhetoric highlights growing tensions between the world’s leading nuclear powers as they navigate post-New START arms control negotiations.