Trump’s Commendable Proposal. A Summit With Putin And Xi Jinping To Halve Military Budgets—Arms Reduction, Can It Happen?

Trump’s Arms Reduction Proposal 

Since the dawn of civilization, humanity has been defined by boundaries—both real and imagined. From the first settlements where groups of people staked claim to land and resources to the rise of powerful kingdoms that expanded through conquests, the idea of territories and defense has been an intrinsic part of human history. Borders, whether drawn on ancient maps or dictated by military might, have always played a central role in shaping societies and governance.

As civilizations evolved, so did conflicts. The medieval era saw kingdoms clashing over trade routes and territorial ambitions, but it was the emergence of modern nation-states that institutionalized defense spending.

By the 20th century, war had become a highly structured and devastating enterprise. The two World Wars forced nations to divert vast economic resources into military advancements, leading to the development of weapons of unprecedented destruction. Then came the Cold War—an era defined by an arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union, where nuclear stockpiles grew exponentially, and the world teetered on the edge of annihilation.

Despite the end of the Cold War, military expenditures did not significantly decline. Instead, new threats—terrorism, cyber warfare, regional conflicts, and rising geopolitical tensions—ensured that defense budgets continued to rise.

Today, we live in a world where the major powers allocate an overwhelming portion of their financial resources to military capabilities. The United States, Russia, and China collectively spend hundreds of billions of dollars annually on defense, often at the expense of critical domestic and global challenges such as healthcare, education, poverty alleviation, and climate change.

Donald Trump’s Proposal 

It is against this backdrop that US President Donald Trump’s latest proposal—to convene a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss cutting their respective military budgets in half—stands out as both ambitious and, to many, highly idealistic.

Speaking from the White House, Trump declared his intent to initiate talks aimed at reducing nuclear stockpiles and scaling back defense expenditures, arguing that the world does not need to keep building new weapons when existing arsenals already possess the capability to destroy humanity several times over.

Trump’s call for arms reduction is not entirely unprecedented. Past US presidents, from Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama, have pursued various arms control agreements, some with success. Treaties like the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) and the New START sought to cap nuclear arsenals and bring some level of accountability to global military build-up. However, recent years have seen a troubling reversal of such efforts.

The Trump administration itself withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, citing Russian violations. The New START agreement, set to expire soon, faces an uncertain future.

Can The Proposal Of Arm Reduction Gain Any Ground?

Trump’s latest push for military budget reductions, while commendable in theory, faces numerous obstacles. The geopolitical scene today is far more fractured than during previous arms control negotiations. The US-China rivalry over economic and technological dominance, Russia’s aggressive stance in Ukraine and Eastern Europe, and the broader mistrust between global superpowers make consensus-building exceedingly difficult.

Additionally, China has historically resisted participating in trilateral arms control talks, arguing that its nuclear arsenal is significantly smaller than that of the US and Russia.

Yet, if such a deal were somehow realized, the potential benefits would be enormous. Cutting military spending in half could free up trillions of dollars over the next decade—funds that could be redirected toward infrastructure, scientific research, social welfare, and climate initiatives. A reduction in nuclear stockpiles could also decrease the likelihood of catastrophic miscalculations and accidents, making the world a safer place.

However, the road to disarmament has significant hurdles with political, economic, and strategic concerns. Moreover, would military-industrial complexes, deeply embedded in these nations’ economies, allow such drastic cuts? Would smaller nations with growing defense ambitions, such as India and North Korea, be willing to follow suit? And most crucially, can three of the world’s most powerful yet adversarial leaders truly set aside their differences for the greater good?

What Did Trump Say?

U.S. President Donald Trump speaking to reporters at the White House said he wants to sit down with China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin to talk about cutting all three nations’ nuclear stockpiles and slashing defense budgets by half.

Trump said he’d like to have this meeting “when things calm down.” His vision? A world where the U.S., China, and Russia aren’t pouring insane amounts of money into military spending.

“When we get everything sorted out, I want one of my first meetings to be with President Xi and President Putin,” Trump said before a summit with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “And I want to say—let’s cut our military budgets in half.”

He also questioned the logic of constantly expanding nuclear arsenals, pointing out that the U.S. already has enough firepower to wipe out the planet “100 times over.” Instead of spending on weapons, he suggested redirecting funds to more productive causes.

This statement came just a day after his phone conversation with Putin about ending the war in Ukraine. Trump claimed the two had agreed to work on arms reduction “in a very big way.”

“And here we are, building new nuclear weapons. They’re building nuclear weapons. China is building nuclear weapons. China’s trying to catch up—they’re way behind, but in five or six years, they’ll be even,” he said, painting a picture of an endless arms race.

He also made it clear that actually using these weapons would be catastrophic. “That’s going to be probably oblivion,” he said.

The Global Nuclear Reality

The numbers back up Trump’s concerns. The U.S. and Russia hold the majority of the world’s nuclear weapons—roughly 10,805 warheads between them, according to the Arms Control Association. China, on the other hand, has about 600, while other nuclear-armed nations, including France, the U.K., India, Pakistan, Israel, and North Korea, collectively have around 1,000.

In terms of spending, the U.S. remains far ahead. Congress has allocated a massive $895 billion for defense in 2025. China’s military budget is estimated at $185 billion, while Russia spent $145.9 billion last year.

The situation is further complicated by uncertainty around arms control agreements. The New START treaty, the last major nuclear arms control deal between the U.S. and Russia, is set to expire next February, and Moscow has warned that its renewal is looking “not very promising.”

So, could Trump’s latest proposal actually happen? Given the history and political realities, it’s a long shot—but if it did, it would undoubtedly be one of the most significant shifts in global military policy in decades.