Changes in International Arms Control and China’s Role

The international arms control regime has arrived at a crossroads as the United States pulls out of a number of international treaties and launches a new round of defense and military buildup in pursuit of absolute strategic and technological superiority. Under the Trump administration’s “America First” doctrine, Washington is leading the global arms control cause astray. The article traces the international arms control regime’s liberal institutionalist roots and situates the positions of the world’s largest nuclear powers in it. It analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of the regime and put forward a number of policy measures to improve it. It argues that the officially recognized nuclear powers, especially the United States and Russia, should assume the lion’s share of maintaining global strategic stability. The author highlights the most urgent challenges in the current arms control regime and outlines China’s role and responsibilities as a rising military power in the evolution of the arms control cause.