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, APA reports, citing CNN.
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.
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