Trust Is Imperative for U.S.-China Cooperation on Nuclear Security Issues
It is generally recognized that the U.S. and China share significant common interests in cooperating on issues of nuclear nonproliferation and arms control. The robustness of nuclear deterrence determines that quality and quantity of nuclear weapons no longer dominate the calculations around nuclear policy as long as a nuclear retaliatory capability can be maintained. Nuclear primacy is hardly a viable or even a desirable goal to pursue. Instead, major nuclear powers care more about maintaining strategically stable relationships with each other that are underwritten by nuclear deterrence. There is little doubt that the U.S. and China share a common interest in maintaining so called strategic stability with each other. Such common/shared interests motivate them to cooperate to prevent nuclear arms races from happening that are unnecessary, dangerous, and financially costly.