The talks reportedly proposed visits to the US department of energy national labs and to China’s equivalent facilities (Photo: Reuters).
The US plans to continue pushing for that possibility during in-person meetings in the coming months, according to a Tuesday report by CNN. However, according to CNN, the current idea of reciprocal visits was initially raised by Beijing as an indication of openness to confidence-building measures. Former acting assistant secretary of state Paul Dean, who oversaw US arms control efforts, told CNN that the administration should enter any nuclear talks with China with its “eyes wide open. “This is a very dangerous time, and there are very few guardrails in place on the US-China nuclear relationship,” said Dean, who is now a vice president at the nonprofit Nuclear Threat Initiative.
The efforts to establish a trilateral agreement with China and Russia began in President Donald Trump’s initial term, but largely went in vain, with China and Russia largely ignoring the US outreach. The discussions have been at the working level between American and Chinese officials, on the sidelines of gatherings by the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.
Lower-level talks on possible nuclear site visits are expected to take place before the two leaders meet again, according to the official quoted by CNN.