China's nuclear weapons

The main articles are:

• People's Liberation Army of China
• Nuclear weapons

2023

Pentagon: China has doubled its nuclear arsenal from 2020

As of May 2023, China possesses more than 500 ready-to-use nuclear warheads. For comparison, in 2020, their number was estimated at about 200 units. Thus, during the specified period, the number of nuclear warheads in the PRC more than doubled. Such data are provided in a Pentagon report published in mid-October 2023.

The US Department of Defense notes that China is increasing the pace of production of nuclear warheads. The US military believes that by 2030 the PRC will have more than 1 thousand such products, and by 2035 - 1.5 thousand. At the same time, China's initiatives to build nuclear potential are not limited only to warheads. According to the Pentagon, in 2022, the construction of three complexes with more than 300 new missile mines was completed in China, some of which are already loaded with intercontinental ballistic missiles.

China possesses more than 500 ready-to-use nuclear warheads

Beijing officially adheres to the policy of not using nuclear weapons first, saying that the arsenal is being formed as a "retaliatory means." At the same time, the Pentagon report says that the Chinese military is working on new intercontinental ballistic missiles with non-nuclear warheads, which, if necessary, could be used against targets in the mainland of the United States, in the states of Alaska and Hawaii.

The report's authors say China is increasing diplomatic, political and military pressure on Taiwan. According to reports, the PRC authorities are considering the possibility of forcibly seizing the island by 2027. In addition, the Pentagon says, the Chinese authorities are putting pressure on other neighbors in the region. Overall, China's military spending rose 7.2% in 2023 from the previous year, according to state budget data.^[1]

China is among the countries with the largest reserves of raw materials for nuclear weapons

In Russia and the United States - the largest reserves of raw materials for nuclear weapons
For China, data on traces of the presence of highly enriched uranium and plutonium in the country
As of
March 2023

China overtakes the United States for the first time in the number of ballistic missile launchers

China has surpassed the United States in the number of ground-based ICBM launchers. This, as it became known in early February 2023, the US military notified Congress.

According to The Wall Street Journal, a letter from General Anthony Cotton, head of the Strategic Command of the US Armed Forces, states that as of October 2022, the number of stationary and mobile intercontinental ballistic missile launchers in China exceeded the number of the United States. At the same time, China is inferior to the United States in the number of missiles and nuclear warheads on them.

China surpasses the United States in the number of ground launchers of intercontinental ballistic missiles

It is noted that the reserves of US nuclear warheads far exceed China's arsenal. So, according to the Federation of American Scientists, in 2022 the United States had more than 5,000 nuclear warheads, and the PRC - about 400. Although the difference in reserves is significant, a Pentagon report published in November 2022 said that China is increasing its nuclear arsenal at a faster pace and could expand it to 1,500 nuclear warheads by 2035.

It will not be an understatement to say that China's nuclear modernization program is moving faster than was thought possible, "said a statement released by leaders of the Republican Armed Forces Committees of Congress.

It is also noted that the US arsenal includes more than a dozen submarines capable of launching ballistic missiles and a fleet of bombers that can carry nuclear warheads on board. At the same time, the United States cannot increase its potential due to the operation of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START III), signed with the Russian Federation. This agreement is valid until February 4, 2026.^[2]

2021:350 nuclear warheads

In 2021, China is building more than 200 nuclear missile mines near the city of Hami, which is adjacent to Russia.

The number of Chinese mine launchers under construction is the largest since the Cold War and exceeds Russia's total number of mine intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Russia has 6,257 nuclear warheads. As of May 2021, the arsenal in the United States is 5550 units, and in China - only 350 (excluding new mines).

The number of nuclear warheads for May 2021

Nuclear arsenals of countries of the world for October 21, 2021

Notes