An unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile launches during an operational test at 2:10 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, U.S., August 2, 2017. Picture taken August 2, 2017.
The White House on Wednesday tried to ease Beijing’s “serious concerns” over reports that the US is adjusting its nuclear strategy to incorporate more of a focus on East Asia. The US National Security Council said it “is not a response to any single entity, country, nor threat” and that North Korea and Russia factor into the shift.
China’s foreign ministry said “the United States has constantly stirred up the so-called China nuclear threat theory in recent years.” China objects because it has always maintained a no-first-use policy with its nuclear weapons, and its arsenal is small compared to Washington’s 3,700 warheads.
Still, China has been arming – the Pentagon estimated last year that Beijing now has 500 warheads and may reach 1,000 by 2030. But from China’s point of view, that’s just playing catch up, says Eurasia Group’s Jeremy Chan. “Beijing sees US rhetoric about arms control as an effort to lock in the Chinese arsenal at a level that is still a fraction of Washington’s,” he explained. “They want to play for more time.”
US and Chinese interests may not be entirely misaligned. Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly told Russian President Vladimir Putin, for example,to quit threatening to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine when the two met in Moscow last year, and Chan notes that nuclear proliferation is one of the few issues where Beijing won’t cover for North Korea.As AI creates new opportunities, the people who understand a community best play an important role in determining how those opportunities take shape. Across the US, Microsoft is supporting AI literacy classes as part of a new program developed in collaboration with the Public Library Association, working through trusted local institutions to help people build practical AI skills. By pairing new technology with local knowledge, the initiative is helping communities explore how AI can support their needs and open new possibilities, while putting local leaders and organizations at the center of that work. Read the full story here.
Russia is testing NATO’s red lines with escalating drone attacks and airspace violations. Can Europe defend Ukraine and itself without help from the US? Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski joins Ian Bremmer on GZERO World.
Who among us has not gotten stiffed by a superpower. #PUPPETREGIME
Is Putin's war machine starting to crack? Poland's foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski discusses Ukraine's battlefield gains and mounting economic pressure on Russia.