China and weapons of mass destruction
| China | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| First nuclear weapon test | October 16, 1964 |
| First fusion weapon test | June 17, 1967 |
| Last nuclear test | July 29, 1996 |
| Largest yield test |
4 Mt
|
| Total tests | 45 |
| Peak stockpile | 434 |
| Current stockpile (usable and not) | ~260 |
| Current strategic arsenal | 260 warheads (2015 est.) |
| Cumulative strategic arsenal in megatonnage | +111 to +140 Warning, this is a crude estimate |
| Maximum missile range | 14,000 km |
| NPT party | Yes (1992, one of five recognized powers) |
4 Mt
The People's Republic of China has developed and possesses weapons of mass destruction, including chemical and nuclear weapons. The first of China's nuclear weapons tests took place in 1964, and its first hydrogen bomb test occurred in 1967. Tests continued until 1996, when China signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). China has acceded to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BWC) in 1984 and ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in 1997.
The number of nuclear warheads in China's arsenal is a state secret. There are varying estimates of the size of China's arsenal. China is estimated by the Federation of American Scientists to have an arsenal of about 260 total warheads as of 2015, which would make it the second smallest nuclear arsenal amongst the five nuclear weapon states acknowledged by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons; in terms of warheads, they are ranked 3rd in megatonnage. According to some estimates, the country could "more than double" the "number of warheads on missiles that could threaten the United States by the mid-2020s".
Early in 2011, China published a defense white paper, which repeated its nuclear policies of maintaining a minimum deterrent with a no-first-use pledge. Yet China has yet to define what it means by a "minimum deterrent posture". This, together with the fact that "it is deploying four new nuclear-capable ballistic missiles, invites concern as to the scale and intention of China’s nuclear upgrade".
China signed the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) on January 13, 1993. China ratified the CWC on April 25, 1997. In the official declaration submitted to the OPCW, the Chinese government declared that it had possessed a small arsenal of chemical weapons in the past but that it had destroyed it before ratifying the Convention. It has declared only three former chemical production facilities that may have produced mustard gas, phosgene and Lewisite.
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