Exclusive: US intelligence agencies tie Chinese explosive test to push for a completely new nuclear arsenal
US intelligence agencies believe that China is developing a new generation of nuclear weapons and has conducted at least one covert explosive test in recent years as part of a broader push to completely transform its nuclear arsenal into the world’s most technologically advanced, according to multiple sources familiar with the US intelligence assessments. The US assessment of China’s intention to radically advance its nuclear weapons is fueling debate inside the intelligence community and beyond over whether there has been a shift in Beijing’s thinking on nuclear strategy, the sources said. The investment in its nuclear arsenal is pushing China closer to peer status with Russia and the US and could yield technical capabilities neither of the two dominant nuclear powers currently possess. China secretly conducted an explosive nuclear test in June 2020 at the Lop Nur facility, in the country’s northwest – despite a self-imposed moratorium on such activity that has been in place since 1996 – and was planning to do more in the future, according to the sources and recent statements from US officials. While the 2020 test was disclosed publicly by US State Department officials this month, the purpose of the test has not been previously revealed. Evidence collected as part of a subsequent review of the June 2020 event, has led US officials to conclude the test was motivated by China’s pursuit of next-generation nuclear weapons, the sources familiar said. That includes efforts to develop additional weapons systems capable of delivering multiple, miniaturized nuclear warheads from a single missile. China also appears to be developing low-yield, tactical nuclear weapons – something the country has never previously produced – that could be deployed against targets closer to home, including in scenarios where Beijing responds to a potential US defense of Taiwan, the sources added. China has been aggressively expanding its nuclear sites, US intelligence officials have previously reported publicly, with analysts suspecting that China might be pursuing new technologies. Now US officials believe there is strong evidence to support that theory – in part – because of what it has learned about the 2020 test. China has had a nuclear arsenal since 1964. It has produced warheads faster than any country in the world, although the size of its arsenal trails far behind Russia and the US, which continue to own the lion’s share of the world’s nuclear weapons. Asked about the US intelligence assessments of its nuclear program, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington told CNN that “the United States has distorted and smeared China’s nuclear policy.”
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