US-Russia nuclear disarmament talks to begin, but no sign of China joining in

The US and Russia will restart talks about their nuclear arsenals on Monday after a break of more than a year and uncertainty over whether Donald Trump is interested in salvaging arms control in the last four months before elections.
Trump’s new US arms control envoy, Marshall Billingslea will lead a delegation to meet the Russian deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov in Vienna, and has also asked for Beijing to send a representative.
“The United States has extended an open invitation to the People’s Republic of China to join these discussions, and has made clear the need for all three countries to pursue arms control negotiations in good faith,” the state department said.
Trump has been insistent that China join what has for decades been bilateral dialogue, but the Chinese government has refused. Its stockpile, currently estimated by the Federation of American Scientists at 320 warheads, is less than a twentieth the size of the US or Russian arsenal.