China says officials from the country and the United States are expected to discuss nuclear-arms control and nuclear nonproliferation next week in Washington.

China's foreign ministry spokesperson made the announcement at a news conference on Thursday.

The spokesperson said that a senior official of the ministry's arms control section will attend the meeting.

The US Defense Department estimated in a report released last month that China has more than 500 operational nuclear warheads. The department said that the pace of growth of China's nuclear arsenal is "on track to exceed previous projections."

Beijing reacted sharply, saying that the report ignores facts and propagates rhetoric about the so-called "China threat."

Alarmed by China's accelerated buildup, the US has called on China to sit down for discussions on nuclear arms control. China has responded to the call.

The Wall Street Journal calls the upcoming meeting the first such talks with Beijing since the Obama administration.

The leading US newspaper also states, "The discussion doesn't signal the start of formal negotiations to set limits on each side's nuclear forces," but it will "provide American officials with an opportunity to probe their Chinese counterparts about Beijing's nuclear doctrine."