China rapidly expanding nuclear arsenal – report – RT World News

China has been expanding its nuclear arsenal “faster than any other country” In recent months, an annual report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has stated. Beijing has reportedly added 90 warheads to its inventory since January 2023.

The document notes, however, that other nuclear-armed nations have also been modernizing their weapons of mass destruction and increasing the number of operational nuclear warheads at their disposal.

According to the SIPRI report released on Sunday, the US and Russia are by far the largest nuclear powers, with almost 90% of the world's nuclear weapons.

However, China is “expanding its nuclear arsenal faster than any other country,” according to Hans M. Kristensen, senior associate fellow of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Program at SIPRI. SIPRI's findings indicate that Beijing's nuclear arsenal grew from 410 to 500 warheads between January 2023 and January 2024.

A separate US Defense Department report last October concluded that China “It had more than 500 operational nuclear warheads by May 2023, on track to exceed previous projections.” The Pentagon predicted at the time that number would likely exceed 1,000 by 2030.

SIPRI states that, “For the first time, China may also be deploying a small number of peacetime missile warheads.” While Beijing reportedly has 24 nuclear warheads on high operational alert, that number stands at more than 1,700 each for the US and Russia.

The report concludes that “China could have at least as many intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) as Russia or the US at the start of the decade, although its stockpile of nuclear warheads is still expected to be much smaller than those of either of these two countries.”

In an interview with The Telegraph on Sunday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg revealed that member states were discussing removing more nuclear-capable missiles from storage and putting them on standby. He cited perceived threats from Russia and China, insisting that the US-led military bloc needed to send a clear message about its own nuclear capabilities to Moscow and Beijing.

You can share this story on social media:

Follow RT on