Satellite images taken between 2022 and 2026 have revealed a significant increase in Beijing’s nuclear weapons stockpile in southwest China’s Sichuan province, reflecting Beijing’s ambitions in an era of intensifying superpower rivalry, The New York Times reported on February 15.
China’s nuclear expansion
One such nuclear facility lies near the city of Zitong in Sichuan province, where engineers have built new bunkers and reinforced walls. The newly built complex, lined with a series of pipes, suggests that the facility is designed to handle highly hazardous materials.
In another valley is a double-fenced facility known as Pingtong, where experts believe China is producing plutonium cores for nuclear warheads. The main building, marked by a 360-foot tall ventilation chimney, has been renovated in recent years with new vents and heat dissipation systems. Another construction is now underway next to it, the report added.
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The nuclear-related sites in these valleys are among several secret sites in Sichuan province that have expanded in recent years. Beijing’s nuclear expansion plan further complicates efforts to revive global arms control after the expiration of the last remaining nuclear treaty between the United States and Russia. Washington has previously argued that any future deal must also include China; However, Beijing has shown little to no interest in joining such arrangements.
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Nuclear power is an integral part of China’s goal of becoming a superpower
The satellite images were analyzed by Renny Babiarz, a geospatial intelligence expert who shared his findings with The New York Times, saying: “The changes we see on the ground in these places are consistent with China’s broader goals of becoming a global superpower. Nuclear weapons are an integral part of that.”
Comparing China’s various nuclear sites to pieces of a mosaic, Babiarz explained that when viewed together they reveal a pattern of rapid expansion. “There has been development in all these places, but generally speaking, this change has accelerated since 2019,” he added.
Tensions between the US and China
The expansion of Beijing’s nuclear facilities serves as a growing source of tension between the US and China. Earlier this month, Thomas G. DiNanno, the assistant secretary of state for arms control and international security, publicly accused China of secretly conducting nuclear explosive tests in violation of the global moratorium. Beijing rejected the claim, calling it “false”.
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Chinese nuclear warheads
By the end of 2024, China had more than 600 nuclear warheads, and according to the Pentagon’s latest annual estimate, it is said to be on track to increase the number to 1,000 by 2030. While Beijing’s stockpile is much smaller than that of Moscow and Washington, its growth remains problematic, said Matthew Sharp, a former State Department official who is now a senior fellow at the Center for Nuclear Security Policy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The report said the nuclear facilities in Sichuan province were built six decades ago as part of Mao Zedong’s Third Front, a project aimed at protecting China’s nuclear weapons laboratories and facilities from strikes by the US or the Soviet Union. Later, as tensions between China and the US and Moscow eased in the 1980s, many of the “Third Front” nuclear sites were either closed or downsized, with scientists often moving to a new weapons laboratory in the nearby city of Mianyang.
Estimated global stockpile of nuclear warheads
According to a report by the Arms Control Association, the total number of nuclear warheads was reported to be over 12,400, with almost 90% belonging to Russia and the US. Here is a list of countries that possess nuclear warheads: