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29 October 2024

Evaluating Current Arms-control Proposals: Perspectives from the US, Russia and China


The last remaining strategic-arms-control treaty between Russia and the United States will expire in February 2026, with little prospect of a follow-on agreement. Russia’s war in Ukraine has upended the European security order and the adversarial relationship between Moscow and NATO has dashed any chance of near-term engagement. China, meanwhile, has steadily expanded its nuclear- and conventional-missile arsenals, and has thus far only sporadically engaged in consultations with the US.

The US, Russia and China have over the last five years tabled proposals for arms-control and risk-reduction measures that each viewed as mitigating arms-racing, lowering the risk of nuclear use and contributing to upholding global non-proliferation norms. However, conflicting interests and adversarial relations have so far served to stymie any progress.

In this report, three experts – one American, one Russian and one Chinese – set out an examination of selected arms-control and risk-reduction proposals from their respective countries, and assess their potential contributions to strategic stability. They also provide short critiques of the proposals tabled by the other two countries, thereby highlighting both the differences and the commonalities between the positions currently held by Washington, Moscow and Beijing.

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