NTI-Led Delegation Advances U.S.-China Nuclear Fail-Safe Dialogue in Beijing

At a moment of strained relations between Washington and Beijing, U.S. and Chinese experts are engaging to reduce the risks of accidental, mistaken, or unauthorized nuclear use.

On November 9-10, a team of former senior U.S. government officials and NTI staff traveled to Beijing to discuss nuclear fail-safe reviews with Chinese experts and former officials. Nuclear fail-safe reviews are periodic, comprehensive reviews of a state’s nuclear weapon systems designed to identify vulnerabilities and to strengthen practical measures against unintended nuclear use.

NTI President and CEO Christine E. Wormuth led the team of U.S. experts for the third U.S.-China Nuclear Fail-Safe and International Security dialogue. The dialogue was held in partnership with the Grandview Institution in Beijing and the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network (APLN).

The delegation included:

• Rebecca Hersman, Senior Research Scholar, GovAI
• Paul Dean, Vice President, Global Nuclear Policy Program at NTI
• Mark Melamed, Deputy Vice President, Global Nuclear Policy Program at NTI
• Isabelle Williams, Senior Director, Global Nuclear Policy Program at NTI

Over two days, participants discussed the U.S.-China relationship and opportunities to encourage governments to conduct fail-safe reviews. They worked on a set of principles for how fail-safe reviews and practices should work. Participants also compared different perspectives on how AI might introduce new risks around nuclear weapons and how fail-safe practices could adapt to manage these challenges.

The meeting is part of NTI’s work to champion fail-safe reviews as a practical step that all nuclear-armed states should take to reduce unnecessary and unwanted nuclear risks.

“As Presidents Trump and Xi work to build a more constructive relationship, dialogue on nuclear fail-safe can be a starting point for U.S.-China efforts to reduce nuclear risk,” said Wormuth. “The risk of accidental, mistaken, or unauthorized nuclear use is real, and reducing that risk—in any country—makes all of us safer.”

NTI and partners, Asia-Pacific Leadership Network and European Leadership Network, host discussions on fail-safe reviews with countries around the world.

Participants took part in their personal capacities.