US should be the first to cut its nuclear arsenal, military expenditure: Chinese spokesperson

BEIJING, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- The United States should put into practice "America First" and be the first to cut its nuclear arsenal and military expenditure, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense said on Thursday.

It is incumbent upon the United States, a country in possession of the world's largest nuclear arsenal, to fulfill its special and primary responsibilities for nuclear disarmament and further make drastic and substantive cuts to its nuclear arsenal, said Wu Qian, the spokesperson, at a press conference.

His statement was in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's recent remarks that he plans to have nuclear arms control talks with China and Russia, as well as his proposal to cut the three countries' defense budgets by half.

Wu reiterated that China commits itself to a policy of no first use of nuclear weapons, pursues a nuclear strategy of self-defense, and keeps its nuclear strength at the minimum level required for national security.

On defense budget, the spokesperson noted that the U.S. defense spending has topped the world for many years and is higher than that of the following eight countries combined.

"I believe that the United States should put into practice 'America First' in this regard, and be the first to cut its nuclear arsenal and military expenditure," he said.