China is developing a new generation of nuclear weapons, US intelligence services warn. Details revealed by the US after a secret Chinese test
President Xi Jinping inspects the troops. PHOTO: Jun Yasukawa / AP / Profimedia
China has conducted at least one explosive nuclear test in secret in recent years as part of a broader effort to transform its nuclear arsenal to make it the most technologically advanced on the planet, multiple sources with knowledge of US intelligence assessments told CNN.
The US services believe that the Chinese authorities are developing a new generation of nuclear weapons, and the intelligence community – and not only – is wondering whether Beijing's perspective on nuclear strategy has also been changed, the sources said.
Investments in the national nuclear arsenal bring China closer to a status similar to that of the United States and Russia, but could give Beijing technical capabilities that neither of the two dominant nuclear powers currently possess.
Secret nuclear test at Lop Nur
According to sources and recent statements by US officials, in June 2020 China secretly conducted an explosive nuclear test at the Lop Nur facility in the northwest of the country, despite a self-imposed moratorium since 1996, and plans to conduct more in the future.
Although the test had been disclosed by US State Department officials this month, the purpose of the exercise was not known until now.
Evidence gathered as part of a follow-up review of the June 2020 event has led US officials to conclude that Beijing wants to develop a new generation of nuclear weapons, the sources said. This includes weapons systems capable of launching multiple miniaturized nuclear warheads from a single missile.
China also appears to be developing low-yield tactical nuclear weapons, a first for the country, that could be deployed against targets at shorter ranges, including in scenarios where Beijing responds to a potential US intervention to defend Taiwan, the sources added.
A growing nuclear arsenal
Officials in the US intelligence community have said publicly that Chinese authorities have aggressively expanded their nuclear sites, and analysts suspect the country is trying to develop new technologies. Now U.S. officials believe there is strong evidence to support that theory, in part as a result of details they learned about the 2020 test.
China's nuclear arsenal began in 1964. It has produced nuclear warheads faster than any other country in the world, but its arsenal is far smaller than that of the United States and Russia, which continue to possess most of the planet's nuclear weapons.
Between 2015 and 2025, China increased its arsenal to 600 warheads, up from 260. The US has 5,177 and Russia has 5,459, according to the United States Studies Centre, a University of Sydney think-tank.
