China’s nuclear arsenal is expanding rapidly under President Xi Jinping, despite his stated support for reducing the world’s stockpile of doomsday weapons, according to a new report.
Satellite imagery analyzed by the Daily Telegraph indicates that at least seven nuclear testing and construction sites have either emerged or undergone major expansion in recent months. Extensive networks of infrastructure and testing facilities are being developed across the Chinese countryside.
At one site, an entire town has been built around the nuclear facility. Apartment blocks, sports fields and a depot for staff buses have appeared alongside the weapons complex.
A second location now features a tube measuring about 2,000 feet in length, which is believed to be designed to test how nuclear weapons would withstand attacks from enemy systems. A third site appears to be examining the impact of nuclear blasts with advanced laser technology.
The Telegraph reported that villages and farming communities have been demolished and paved over to make room for parts of the expanding nuclear infrastructure.
The activity comes despite Xi’s public support for nuclear non-proliferation measures, including China’s “no first use” policy and its signatures on the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, which seeks to end nuclear tests involving open explosions.
China’s nuclear arsenal has more than doubled since Xi took office in 2012, reaching an estimated 620 warheads as of last January.
By comparison, the United States is believed to possess about 5,300 nuclear warheads, while Russia has roughly 5,500.
At the current pace of growth, experts estimate that China could have 1,500 nuclear warheads by 2035. Some of its missiles are capable of traveling 9,300 miles, placing the US within their potential range, according to the Telegraph.
China has developed a full nuclear triad, allowing it to launch nuclear-armed missiles from land, submarines and aircraft. The country spent an estimated $12.4 billion on its nuclear forces in 2024, according to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.
China’s expansion may also be linked to President Trump’s calls last fall for the United States to increase and potentially resume testing of its own nuclear arsenal.
“Because of other countries’ testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis,” Trump wrote on Truth Social last October.
“That process will begin immediately,” he added.
The report comes as Trump welcomed Xi to Washington, DC, for a three-day visit beginning Wednesday. Observers expect the meeting to involve high-stakes negotiations behind closed doors, alongside the public ceremony and pageantry.
