US And China Confront Taiwan Issue In First Informal Nuclear Talks In 5 Years: Report

The U.S. and China have reportedly engaged in their first informal nuclear talks in five years, with the Taiwan issue at the forefront.

What Happened: The discussions took place in March, with Chinese representatives assuring their U.S. counterparts that they would not resort to nuclear threats over Taiwan, Reuters reported on Friday, citing two American delegates who attended. The U.S. delegates had expressed concerns that China might use or threaten to use nuclear weapons in the event of a conflict over Taiwan.

Beijing, however, stated that it is confident in its ability to prevail in a conventional fight over Taiwan without resorting to nuclear weapons.

“They told the U.S. side that they were absolutely convinced that they are able to prevail in a conventional fight over Taiwan without using nuclear weapons,” said scholar David Santoro, the U.S. organizer of the Track Two talks.

A State Department spokesperson acknowledged the potential benefits of Track Two talks. However, the department clarified that it did not partake in the March meeting, although it was informed of its occurrence, according to the report.

Santoro stated that Chinese delegates informed U.S. representatives of Beijing’s continued adherence to these policies, emphasizing that they were not seeking nuclear parity or superiority. In summarizing Beijing’s stance, Santoro conveyed that there had been no changes and that the situation was business as usual, dismissing any exaggeration from the U.S. side.

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Fellow U.S. delegate Lyle Morris, a security scholar at the Asia Society Policy Institute, confirmed Santoro’s account of the discussions. Santoro mentioned that a report on the talks is being compiled for the U.S. government but will not be released to the public.

Why It Matters: The resumption of nuclear talks between the U.S. and China comes amid escalating tensions over Taiwan. Just last month, the U.S. and China held their first in-person defense talks since 2022, discussing Taiwan and the Ukraine-Russia conflict. This was seen as a positive step in easing military communications between the two nations.

China’s President Xi Jinping has also accused the U.S. of trying to provoke China into invading Taiwan, a claim he reportedly made during a meeting with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in April 2023.

The recent talks are part of a two-decade nuclear weapons and posture dialogue that was stalled after the Trump administration pulled funding in 2019. Despite ongoing tensions, both sides have expressed a willingness to continue these discussions, with more talks planned for 2025, according to Morris.

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This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Kaustubh Bagalkote