China is building up its nuclear arsenal at a rate outstripping Russia and the United States, The Times reports. According to the newspaper, the increase in nuclear capabilities comes as part of Xi Jinping’s modernisation of China’s armed forces.
“China is expanding its nuclear capabilities as part of a reorganisation of its armed forces under Xi Jinping’s leadership,” the publication writes.
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute released a report that said China possessed 410 nuclear warheads at the beginning of 2023, but that number had risen to 500 a year later.
China’s nuclear arsenal is still much smaller than that of the United States and Russia, which, according to the researchers, have 3,700 and 4,300 warheads respectively. At the same time, the authors emphasise that China is probably already capable of equipping its missiles with nuclear warheads and is putting its weapons on high alert for the first time.
White House National Security Council Senior Director for Nonproliferation Pranay Waddy earlier issued a statement that Washington sees the need to increase and diversify the country’s nuclear arsenal.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin assumes that the world will never reach the point of nuclear missile strikes.
