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President Donald Trump has announced that he’d like to restart discussions with Russia and China to reduce nuclear weapon stockpiles.
Some shit you should know before you read: Russia currently possesses the largest nuclear stockpile in the world, with approximately 5,580 warheads, while the United States maintains a slightly smaller arsenal of 5,244 warheads, including 1,770 deployed nuclear warheads. Meanwhile, China, though far behind with an estimated 500 warheads, is rapidly expanding its nuclear arsenal, with the Pentagon projecting it could reach 1,000 warheads by 2030. In addition, the United States is no longer participating in the New START treaty, the last remaining arms control agreement with Russia, after relations soured during the Biden administration due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. China, in contrast, has never been part of any formal nuclear arms control agreement despite

What’s going on now: While speaking virtually at the World Economic Forum in Davos, former President Donald Trump expressed a desire to restart arms reduction talks with Russia and China, citing previous conversations with world leaders that gave him hope for denuclearization. He said, “We want to see if we can denuclearize, and I think that’s very possible.” Recalling his discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin before the 2020 US election, Trump said, “I will tell you that President Putin really liked the idea of cutting way back on nuclear, and I think the rest of the world, we would have gotten them to follow. And China too, China liked it.”
This all comes as significant challenges loom over any effort to reduce nuclear stockpiles, particularly from Russia and China, where trust issues and geopolitical tensions create major obstacles. Russia has heavily invested in modernizing its nuclear arsenal and has repeatedly used nuclear threats during its war in Ukraine, signaling its reliance on these weapons for national defense.
Meanwhile, China’s rapid expansion of its nuclear stockpile further complicates disarmament efforts, as Beijing has no history of participating in arms control agreements and remains wary of US intentions.