The People's Republic of China has developed and possesses weapons of mass destruction, including chemical and nuclear weapons. The first of China's nuclear weapons tests took place in 1964, and its first hydrogen bomb test occurred in 1966 at Lop Nur.[5] Tests continued until 1996, when the country signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), but did not ratify it.[6] China acceded to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) in 1984[7] and ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in 1997.[8]
The number of nuclear warheads in China's arsenal is a state secret.[1] There are varying estimates of the size of China's arsenal. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and Federation of American Scientists estimated in 2024 that China has a stockpile of approximately 438 nuclear warheads,[1][9] while the United States Department of Defense put the estimate at more than 500 operational nuclear warheads,[10] making it the third-largest in the world.
In 2011, the Chinese government published a military white paper, which repeated its nuclear policies of maintaining a minimum deterrent with a no-first-use pledge, though the definition of "minimum deterrent posture" is unclear.[11]
^ abcdKristensen, Hans M.; Korda, Matt; Johns, Eliana; Knight, Mackenzie (January 2, 2024). "Chinese nuclear weapons, 2024". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. 80 (1): 49–72. doi:10.1080/00963402.2023.2295206. ISSN 0096-3402.
^"Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI): Nuclear Disarmament China, Estimated Destructive Power". Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), www.nti.org. February 13, 2017. Archived from the original on July 6, 2017. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
^"Eliminating Nuclear Threats, A Practical Agenda for Global Policymakers, ICNND Report, 2009, Box 2-2". International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament (ICNND), www.icnnd.org. November 2009. Archived from the original on June 25, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
^"DF-41: China's answer to the US BMD efforts | Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses". Archived from the original on July 29, 2013. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
^Zhang, Hui (April 11, 2024). "The short march to China's hydrogen bomb". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Archived from the original on April 11, 2024. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
^Borger, Julian (April 16, 2020). "China may have conducted low-level nuclear test, US claims". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on May 29, 2023. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
^"China: Accession to Biological Weapons Convention". United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2013.
^"Evolution of the Status of Participation in the Convention". Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. Archived from the original on May 29, 2023. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
^"Status of World Nuclear Forces". Federation of American Scientists. March 31, 2023. Archived from the original on May 29, 2023. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
^Feng, Emily (October 19, 2023). "New Pentagon report claims China now has over 500 operational nuclear warheads". NPR. Archived from the original on October 20, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
^Kristensen, Hans M.; Norris, Robert S. (November 27, 2015). "Chinese nuclear forces, 2011". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. 67 (6): 81–87. Bibcode:2011BuAtS..67f..81K. doi:10.1177/0096340211426630. ISSN 0096-3402.
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