China “Gravely Concerned” Over Report on New U.S. Nuclear Strategy

This article originally appeared on Antiwar.com and was republished with permission.

Guest post by Dave DeCamp

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that it was “gravely concerned” over a report from The New York Times that said President Biden approved a new nuclear strategy that focuses on China for the first time.

The strategy, which Biden approved in March, also includes preparations for a simultaneous nuclear war with Russia, China, and North Korea, another first.

“China is gravely concerned over the report,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning. “As we have seen over the past few years, the US has called China a ‘nuclear threat’ and used it as a convenient pretext to shirk its obligation of nuclear disarmament, expand its own nuclear arsenal, and seek absolute strategic predominance.”

Current estimates put China’s arsenal at around 500 warheads, and the Pentagon claims Beijing is on track to have 1,500 by 2035. China acknowledges it’s modernizing its nuclear arsenal, but it has previously denied US claims that it’s rapidly building up its stockpile.

“The size of China’s nuclear arsenal is by no means on the same level as the US. China follows a policy of ‘no first use’ of nuclear weapons and a nuclear strategy that focuses on self-defense, and always keeps its nuclear capabilities at the minimum level required by national security. We have no intention to engage in any form of arms race with other countries,” Mao said.

She added that it’s the US that “sits on the largest and most advanced nuclear arsenal in the world.” The State Department said in July that the US has 5,748 warheads, including 2,000 that are retired and awaiting dismantlement. According to the Arms Control Association, Russia has 5,580 warheads, including 1,200 that are retired and awaiting dismantlement.

Mao called for the US to work to dismantle more of its arsenal. “China urges the US to fulfill its special and primary obligation of nuclear disarmament by further making drastic and substantive cuts to its nuclear arsenal, and stopping nuclear sharing, extended deterrence, expanding nuclear alliance, and other negative moves that undermine global and regional peace and stability,” she said.

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