Washington DC - President Donald Trump's administration has launched discussions to begin reciprocal nuclear site visits with China amid concerns around Beijing's nuclear weapons program.
US officials are engaged in discussions with their Chinese counterparts to begin nuclear site visits with China and continue regular in-person meetings, according to a number of sources that spoke with CNN under the condition of anonymity.
According to the source, it was the Chinese who originally brought up the idea of reciprocal visits, indicating that the superpower may be willing to engage with the US on a potential agreement that would help avoid an arms race between the two countries.
Such visits would see Chinese officials visit US Department of Energy labs and US officials visit China's equivalent facilities. Additionally, the US would open its nuclear testing sites for inspection.
While China has significantly fewer nuclear warheads than the US, it is becoming an increasing concern that the rapid expansion of its arsenal could trigger a Cold War-style arms race.
Former Acting Assistant Secretary of State overseeing US arms control efforts Paul Dean said Washington needs to keep its "eyes wide open" if it moves on reciprocal visits.
He admitted, however, that the idea would constitute "an extremely valuable confidence-building measure."
"This is a very dangerous time, and there are very few guardrails in place on the US-China nuclear relationship," Dean told CNN.
The potential agreement comes off the heals of a September visit to Washington by Chinese President Xi Jinping, who visited President Donald Trump at the White House and received a historically significant welcome.
"We had a great meeting," Trump said following his meeting with Xi, which yielded few concrete results. "President Xi and I have made tremendous strides on the issues facing our two countries."