How many nuclear weapons does China have?

China has significantly increased its stockpile of nuclear weapons over the past year, the US said. The country now possesses about 500 usable nuclear warheads. China’s nuclear capability has been highlighted in the annual report published by the US Department of Defense Pentagon. It is also said that China hopes to increase the number of weapons to 1000 by 2030.

The report said China’s weapons growth exceeded estimates, but it was smaller than Russia and the United States. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Russia has about 5,889 nuclear weapons. There are 5,244 in the United States. According to a 2021 estimate by the US Department of Defense, China had a stockpile of about 400 nuclear warheads.

A senior US defense official told reporters last Thursday, expressing concern about the increase in China’s weapons stockpile, “We don’t want to imply that China has a large number of weapons.” We mean, China is on track to surpass previous estimates.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping has already announced the creation of a ‘world-class military’ by 2049. Since coming to power in 2012, he has been trying to modernize the country’s armed forces.

Beijing is likely to finish building three new missile fields in 2022, U.S. officials say. There is a stockpile of at least 300 new intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). ICBM missiles are capable of hitting targets at a distance of 5,500 km.

According to the Pentagon report, China’s military rocket force is also looking to develop long-range missiles. Henry Boyd, a senior fellow at the Henry Boyd International Institute for Strategic Studies, said China’s rate of nuclear weapons growth does not appear to be exceptional.

However, the country is “progressing slightly faster than expected” in its goal of having 1,000 such weapons.

Source: BBC