CHINA condemned the United States for withdrawing from the Open Skies treaty today, saying it was part of a pattern that “undermines military mutual trust and transparency and will have a negative impact on the international arms control and disarmament process.”

The Donald Trump administration has previously withdrawn from arms-control treaties such as the Intermediate Nuclear Forces treaty with Russia, which helped remove thousands of medium-range nuclear missiles from Europe at the end of the cold war. 

It now says it will allow the last remaining arms-control pact with Moscow — the New Start (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) — to expire in February unless China joins. Beijing says it will be happy to join once US and Russian nuclear-warhead stocks — of over 6,000 each — are down to its own level of fewer than 300, but not before.