US, China discuss visits to nuclear facilities as fears grow that new arms race could take shape

The United States and China are discussing the possibility of allowing officials to visit each other’s nuclear facilities, a tentative step that could provide a rare measure of transparency between two countries increasingly wary of the risks of new nuclear arms races.

The US and China are discussing reciprocal visits to nuclear sites

The discussions remain informal and preliminary, according to people familiar with the matter cited by CNN. Washington intends to continue to push the idea during meetings with Chinese officials in the coming months.

The proposal is notable because it did not originate only in Washington. According to CNN, the Chinese side initially raised the possibility during meetings with US officials earlier this year. Discussions included potential visits to US Department of Energy national laboratories and their Chinese counterparts. The US has also indicated openness to discussing access to nuclear test sites.

For officials trying to establish even a modicum of trust between the two nuclear powers, the distinction is important. An on-site visit would not amount to an arms control treaty, nor would it require any country to disclose the full extent or disposition of its nuclear arsenal. But it could give each side a closer look at devices that are otherwise heavily shielded from outside scrutiny.

The talks largely took place on the sidelines of meetings of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (P5) – the US, China, Russia, Britain and France – according to CNN.

Why and how does timing matter?

The discussions come at an uneasy time for global nuclear security. The last remaining US-Russia strategic arms control agreement, New START, expired in February 2026, removing the main framework that limited and monitored both countries’ strategic arsenals.

Meanwhile, China is expanding its nuclear capabilities. The Arms Control Association estimated that Beijing had approximately 620 nuclear warheads as of July 2026, while continuing to develop new missile systems and nuclear infrastructure.

The United States has a significantly larger arsenal, but American officials are increasingly focused on the pace and opacity of China’s expansion. CNN reported that the US has about 5,000 nuclear warheads in total, compared to about 600 in China’s arsenal.

Beijing has resisted opening arms control talks on the same terms as Washington and Moscow, saying its stockpiles remain far smaller than those of the two established nuclear powers.

However, during his recent meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, US President Donald Trump renewed his push for trilateral arms control talks involving China and Russia. The White House said the leaders discussed strategic stability and that Trump advocated three-way talks on arms control.

Visits to nuclear sites were reportedly not discussed directly between Trump and Xi at this meeting. Their significance may instead lie in what happens before the leaders meet again.

Both Reuters and CNN reported that neither the White House nor the Chinese embassy in Washington had an immediate comment on the reported discussions.

There is no agreement yet. The significance of the proposal is that Washington and Beijing are at least exploring a practical way to peer into each other’s nuclear facilities — a small step that could become the basis for more complex negotiations later.