Xi holds calls with Putin and Trump ahead of nuclear treaty expiry

Wednesday 04 February 2026 - 17:50

By: Dakir Madiha

Xi holds calls with Putin and Trump ahead of nuclear treaty expiry

Chinese President Xi Jinping launched a diplomatic double play Wednesday, holding a video call with Russian President Vladimir Putin before speaking by phone with US President Donald Trump. The outreach came one day before the New START arms control treaty between Washington and Moscow expires on Thursday.

The talks precede a potential first since the early 1970s: US and Russian strategic nuclear forces operating without legally binding limits.

During their video link, Putin hailed Moscow-Beijing ties as a key stabilizing factor amid global turbulence, per Russian state TV. Xi, via interpreter, urged both nations to craft a "grand project" to bolster bilateral relations, which he called solidly on track.

The Kremlin said Putin accepted Xi's invitation to visit China in the first half of 2026, extending high-level video summits held since 2020. Putin called energy sector cooperation "truly strategic," noting 2025 bilateral trade hit about $220 billion.

China on Tuesday pressed Washington to "respond positively" to Russia's offer to maintain warhead caps, while rejecting trilateral disarmament talks due to arsenal size gaps. Trump has pushed for a "better" deal including China, though Beijing consistently refuses.

Xi and Trump's phone call marked their first exchange since late November, when they agreed to 2026 reciprocal state visits, including Trump's planned April trip to Beijing. Chinese state media did not immediately detail Wednesday's discussion.

These calls unfold against rising global strains: a second round of US-organized Ukraine-Russia peace talks starting Wednesday in Abu Dhabi; the Iran standoff after a US shootdown of an Iranian drone near the USS Abraham Lincoln; and January's US capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Signed in 2010 and extended in 2021, New START capped each side at 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear warheads. Putin proposed a one-year political extension, which Trump initially called a "good idea," but Washington has not formally replied. Arms control experts warn letting it lapse without replacement risks sparking a new nuclear arms race.