The United States has accused China of dramatically expanding its nuclear arsenal and conducting secret nuclear tests, prompting fears of a new arms race. The allegations came as the last remaining nuclear treaty between the US and Russia, New Start, expired earlier this month.
Christopher Yeaw, the US assistant secretary of state for arms control, told the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva that China had 'deliberately and without constraint, massively expanded its nuclear arsenal without transparency'. He claimed that Beijing is on track to have fissile material for more than 1,000 warheads by 2030.
China's ambassador, Shen Jian, rejected the accusations as 'groundless' and insisted that Beijing would not 'engage in any nuclear arms race'. He said it was 'not fair, reasonable or realistic' to expect China to participate in trilateral talks with the US and Russia.
Yeaw also reiterated claims that China conducted a secret low-yield nuclear test in June 2020, citing seismic data from Kazakhstan indicating a 2.75-magnitude explosion. China has denied this, accusing Washington of using the allegation as a 'pretext' to resume its own testing.
The US has indicated that it seeks a new arms control agreement that includes China, but Beijing has refused. Yeaw said Washington's goal is 'a better agreement toward a world with fewer nuclear weapons', despite criticising the expired New Start treaty as 'no longer relevant'.
