US Intelligence Reports: China Secretly Modernizing Its Nuclear Arsenal

US intelligence agencies warn about China's intensive and secret efforts to radically modernize its nuclear arsenal. According to information provided to CNN, Beijing is not only working on a new generation of nuclear weapons but has also conducted at least one secret explosive test in recent years. These actions are part of a broader plan aimed at a thorough transformation and modernization of China's atomic capabilities. „China is working on a new generation of nuclear weapons and has conducted at least one secret test” (China is working on a new generation of nuclear weapons and has conducted at least one secret test.) — CNN Parallel to work on new technologies, China is also expanding infrastructure for its arsenal. Western media point to a series of hidden military facilities in Sichuan province in the country's southwest. These bases, located in isolated mountain valleys, are sites for the modernization and expansion of the Middle Kingdom's nuclear potential. These reports emerge in the context of growing geopolitical tensions and the arms race in the Indo-Pacific region. China is a signatory to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) as a nuclear state but has not joined the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). China's last known nuclear tests occurred in 1995-1996. Since then, the country has declared a moratorium on explosive nuclear tests. US intelligence reports, based on information from several agencies, indicate an accelerated pace of Chinese preparations. Beijing's goal is believed to be achieving technological parity or superiority over other nuclear powers. These reports will certainly influence the strategic debate in Washington and may lead to response actions from the USA and allies in the region. There is no official reaction from the Chinese government to these specific allegations regarding secret tests.