China Halts Peace Talks With U.S. Over Taiwan

China has halted nascent nuclear-arms-control talks with the United States, its foreign ministry said on Wednesday, in a protest of Washington's arms sales to the democratically governed island of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory.

The Chinese decision deals a potentially serious setback to global arms-control efforts, with Beijing joining Moscow in refusing to discuss with Washington measures to curb a nuclear-arms race, analysts said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said repeated U.S. arms sales to Taiwan in recent months had "seriously compromised the political atmosphere for continuing the arms-control consultations."

"Consequently, the Chinese side has decided to hold off discussion with the U.S. on a new round of consultations on arms control and non-proliferation.

The responsibility fully lies with the U.S.," Lin told a regular news briefing in Beijing.

The U.S. estimates China has 500 operational nuclear warheads and will probably have more than 1,000 by 2030.

U.S. officials have expressed frustration that Beijing has showed little interest in discussing steps to reduce nuclear weapons risks.

But Beijing has long argued that the U.S. already has a much larger arsenal.