A Chinese defense spokesperson said the U.S. should “substantially” reduce its nuclear arsenal and hold off on extending nuclear deterrence, state media said last week.
“China pursues a self-defense strategy and maintains its nuclear force at the minimum level required for national security,”Wu Qian, Chinese ministry national defense spokesperson, said, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua.
The Department of Defense last year said China is expanding its land-, sea-, and air-based nuclear delivery platforms and investing in further expanding its nuclear forces. DOD estimates that Beijing had 500 operational nuclear warheads as of May 2023 and was on track to have over 1,000 operational warheads by 2030. These would be deployed by 2035, the Pentagon said.
Recently, President Joe Biden (D) reportedly approved a new nuclear strategy in March for the U.S. that would alter the country’s deterrent while specifically focusing on China’s expanding nuclear arsenal.
“Absent a change in the trajectory of adversary arsenals, we may reach a point in the coming years where an increase from current deployed numbers is required,” Pranay Vaddi, special assistant to Mr. Biden and senior director for arms control, disarmament and nonproliferation and the National Security Council, said in June.
Vaddi said that a new nuclear strategy would focus on “the need to deter Russia, the PRC and North Korea simultaneously.”
Qian said it was “common knowledge” that the U.S. had the largest nuclear arsenal in the world, according to XinhuaNet. A declassified document by the National Nuclear Security Administration reported 3,748 warheads in the U.S. nuclear stockpile as of September 2023, which is a few more than its 3,713 warheads in October 2021.
