China's ambassador Shen Jian addresses the audience during the annual high-level debate of the United Nations Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, on February 23, 2026. Photo: VCG

China firmly supports the purpose and objectives of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, and the US accusations that China is conducting nuclear explosive tests are entirely groundless and are merely an excuse fabricated to justify its own potential resumption of nuclear testing, Shen Jian, Chinese ambassador for disarmament affairs, said at a high-level meeting on disarmament in Geneva on Monday local time, according to the China Central Television (CCTV).

China urges the US to reaffirm the commitment of the five nuclear-weapon states to a moratorium on nuclear testing and to uphold the global consensus on banning nuclear tests, Shen said at the meeting.

The rebuttal came after Christopher Yeaw, a US official focusing on arms control, claimed on Monday that China "has deliberately, and without constraint, massively expanded its nuclear arsenal" despite its assurances to the contrary, NBC News reported.

The US met a Russian delegation in Geneva on Monday and will meet a Chinese delegation on Tuesday for talks about forging a potential multilateral nuclear arms control treaty, a senior US State Department official said, per Reuters.

In the face of a complex and severe international security landscape, China upholds a philosophy of arms control that is just, cooperative, balanced, and effective. China is committed to enhancing international security cooperation and improving global security governance, Shen told the meeting, according to the CCTV report.

Nuclear arms control is an important safeguard for maintaining global strategic stability. The international community should adhere to a fair and reasonable, rational and pragmatic approach to nuclear disarmament, persist in resolving nuclear non-proliferation issues through political and diplomatic means, observe the rule of international law, and revitalize multilateral arms control and disarmament mechanisms, the Chinese envoy said.

The US has called for a new, broader arms control treaty that would bring in China as well as Russia, after the agreement limiting US and Russian missile and warhead deployments, known as New START, expired, Reuters said.

On New START, known as New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, China has made clear its position on multiple occasions. We hope the US will resume dialogue with Russia on strategic stability to discuss the arrangements beyond the treaty's expiration, which is what the world would hope to see, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said during a press conference on February 11.