World's nuclear weapons club to meet in China as trade talks and Meng Wanzhou extradition deadline loom

China will host a key nuclear weapons meeting in Beijing next week, the outcome of which could affect efforts to stop the spread of nuclear arms around the globe.

The meeting on Wednesday of five major nuclear powers " China, France, Russia, Britain and the United States " will coincide with the start of a new round of high-stakes trade talks between China and the US in Washington.

In Beijing on Thursday, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying confirmed "nuclear disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation and peaceful uses of nuclear energy" would be on the agenda of the nuclear club known as the "P5".

"The theme will be strengthening coordination of the five nuclear-weapon states and safeguarding the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons mechanism," Hua said.

She said growing instability and uncertainty in the "international security landscape" put "major country relations and responsibilities" in the spotlight.

"We believe that it is of great significance for the five nuclear-weapon states to enhance coordination and cooperation, properly manage differences and jointly uphold international peace, security and stability," she added.

Russia will be represented at the meeting by deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov and the US by undersecretary Andrea Thompson.

Zhao Tong, from the Carnegie-Tsinghua Centre for Global Policy's nuclear policy programme, said the Beijing gathering would also lay the groundwork for a five-yearly conference in 2020 to review the non-proliferation treaty.

At the last review conference in New York in 2015, member countries failed to reach agreement on how to advance the treaty.

"The 2015 ... conference was unsuccessful as it could not issue a final statement on a substantive final declaration. If the 2020 meeting is unsuccessful again, expect a major crisis of nuclear non-proliferation," Zhao said.

Zhao said Hua's remarks suggested that next week's meeting would also be a crucial chance for the US and Russia to discuss their differences over the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), which US President Donald Trump said the US would withdraw from.

"The US and Russia should take this important opportunity to discuss ways to ease the INF dispute. If INF is abandoned, the New START that remains between them will also suffer ... which will be a very dangerous trend," Zhao said.

New START is a nuclear arms reduction treaty Moscow and Washington signed in 2010. The INF Treaty was signed by the US and the then Soviet Union to eliminate short and intermediate-range missiles.

Meanwhile in Washington, all eyes will be watching to see whether US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin can reach a trade deal with the Chinese delegation led by Vice-Premier Liu He.

US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross expressed hope on Wednesday that a deal was within reach but also said the two countries were a long way from agreement.

"There has been a lot of anticipatory work done. But we are miles and miles from getting a resolution," Ross said on CNBC.

Also falling next week is the deadline for a formal request by the US for the extradition of Sabrina Meng Wanzhou from Canada over alleged violations of US sanctions on Iran.

The US has until January 30 to request the extradition of Meng, chief financial officer of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, who was arrested in Vancouver in December.

Meng's arrest not only added to the strains on China-US ties but also battered China's relations with Canada, with Beijing accusing Ottawa of double standards over Meng's arrest and doing Washington's bidding.

US and China 'miles and miles' from trade resolution, says Wilbur Ross

China has since arrested two Canadians on national security grounds and sentenced a third to death at a retrial on drug smuggling charges.

On Thursday, Hua from China's foreign ministry, underscored China's position: "We believe that any one with normal judgment could see through the nature of [Meng's] case.

"We hope that the Canadian side will make the right choice instead of risking endangering itself for other's gains."

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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