Overview
- China’s State Council Information Office published “China’s Arms Control, Disarmament, and Nonproliferation in the New Era,” presenting policies across nuclear issues and emerging domains such as space, cyberspace, and AI.
- The document reaffirms a no-first-use pledge and a “minimum,” “lean and effective” deterrent, detailing upgrades in early warning, command and control, penetration capabilities, rapid response, and survivability.
- Beijing says it has honored a three-decade testing moratorium, notes 45 tests from 1964–1996, and highlights CTBT signature in 1996, while remaining among the nine states whose ratification is required for the treaty to enter into force.
- China calls on states with the largest arsenals to implement drastic, substantive, verifiable, and legally binding reductions and proposes step-by-step multilateral disarmament when conditions allow.
- U.S. defense reporting and independent assessments cite expanding Chinese warhead production, diversified delivery systems, and possible year-round activity at Lop Nur, with estimates of roughly 600 warheads today and growth projected toward 1,000 by 2030.