According to Sipri (Stockholm International Institute of Research on Rooms), China currently has the fastest growing nuclear arsenal in the world. The country has at least 600 nuclear heads and has increased their number from about 100 per year since 2023.
Last year, Sipri estimated that the number of Chinese heads increased from 410 in 2023 to 500 at the beginning of 2024. These data is also confirmed by the Pentagon report, according to which China already has over 600 operational nuclear heads and are going to reach 1000 until the end of the decade.
Sipri points out that although China may have the same ICBM as the USA and Russia by 2030, but in terms of the total number of nuclear heads, they will still remain behind. The Institute predicts that by 2035 Beijing will have a maximum of 1,500 heads.
For comparison: according to SIPRI data, the United States has 5177 heads and Russia 5459. Together these two countries have almost 90 percent. global nuclear arsenal.
In February, former President Donald Trump announced that he wanted to take disarmament talks with Vladimir Putin and XI Jinping in a not very distant future.
– China is trying to catch up, but in five or six years they will be on a par Trump said, commenting on the expansion of Chinese nuclear potential.
In turn, the spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Guo Jiakun assured that China's nuclear strategy was only defensive, and the nuclear arsenal is maintained at a minimum level necessary to ensure national security.
“The United States and Russia should significantly reduce their nuclear resources to create conditions for joining other nuclear countries in disarmament process,” Guo emphasized.
The article is a translation with American Business Insider edition.
