Beijing opposes the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) becoming a multilateral agreement, as it is a treaty "that was agreed upon by the USSR and the US", Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang said Wednesday.
The development comes on the heels of Donald Trump's October statement suggesting that China should be part of the INF Treaty. Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov later said that the treaty should include not only Beijing but also NATO states, “primarily, France and the United Kingdom".
READ MORE: US Hasn't Yet Notified Russia About Withdrawal From INF — Kremlin
Trump announced his country’s intention to withdraw from the INF Treaty over alleged Russian violations of the agreement. Moscow has refuted the claims pointing out that they are groundless and added that Russia has complaints of its own concerning US compliance with the treaty.
The deal suggested that the agreement would have an unlimited duration with each side being able to quit it only after providing substantial evidence of the other side’s violations.