China rejected any prospect of joining arms control talks with the US, AP reported.

According to foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian, the US was “neither serious nor sincere” in the talks, and should instead respond to Russia's call for an extension of the new START treaty limiting the number of nuclear warheads.

“China’s objection to the so-called trilateral arms control negotiations is very clear, and the U.S. knows it very well. However, the U.S. is persistent on the issue and even distorted China’s position,” Zhao told a briefing.

China - with the world’s largest nuclear arsenal after the US and Russia - has maintained it will not join in talks with Washington and Moscow on reducing its number of warheads.

However, the spokesperson seemed to hold open the door to some form of talks saying Washington should “create conditions for other nuclear-weapon states to participate in nuclear disarmament negotiations.”