China on Tuesday (Dec 23) called on the United States to fulfil what it described as its “special and priority responsibility” for nuclear disarmament, pushing back against a draft Pentagon report that claimed Beijing had likely loaded more than 100 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) at sites near the Mongolian border and showed little interest in arms control talks.
Speaking at a regular press briefing in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said the United States, as the world’s largest nuclear power, should take the lead in reducing nuclear risks. “As a super nuclear power with the largest nuclear arsenal, the most urgent task for the US is to earnestly fulfil the special and priority responsibility for nuclear disarmament,” Lin said.
He urged Washington to “substantially reduce its nuclear arsenal to create conditions for other nuclear-weapon states to join the nuclear disarmament process,” reiterating China’s long-standing position that the US and Russia, which together hold the overwhelming majority of the world’s nuclear warheads, bear primary responsibility for advancing global nuclear reductions.
Lin’s comments came after a draft Pentagon report, seen by Reuters, asserted that China had probably installed more than 100 solid-fuelled DF-31 ICBMs across three silo fields near the Mongolian border. The report also stated that US officials continued to see “no appetite from Beijing” for pursuing arms control measures or broader discussions on nuclear risk reduction.
The Pentagon assessment echoed concerns raised by Western analysts that China is rapidly expanding and modernising its nuclear forces. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, a Chicago-based non-profit, has said China is increasing its weapons stockpile faster than any other nuclear-armed country, marking a significant shift from its historically smaller deterrent.
However, Lin dismissed the draft report, saying he was not aware of its specific contents and describing it as part of a familiar pattern. “Similar hypes have been seen from the US before,” he said. Such claims, Lin added, were intended to “find excuses for accelerating its own nuclear forces’ modernisation and actions disrupting global strategic stability.”
US analysts have said Beijing has embarked on a rapid and sustained expansion of both the size and sophistication of its nuclear arsenal, citing new missile silos, mobile launchers, and advances in delivery systems. According to the Pentagon report, China’s nuclear warhead stockpile stood in the low 600s in 2024, reflecting what it described as a slower production rate compared with previous years.
Despite this, the report projected that China was on track to possess more than 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030, a level that would still be far below the current US arsenal but would mark a dramatic increase for Beijing. The United States is estimated to hold around 5,177 nuclear warheads, according to public assessments.
The draft report also questioned China’s willingness to engage in arms control frameworks, a key concern for US policymakers as existing agreements between Washington and Moscow face uncertainty. The New START treaty, which limits US and Russian strategic nuclear forces, is set to expire in 2026 unless extended or replaced.
US President Donald Trump signalled last month that he might be working on a plan to pursue denuclearisation talks involving China and Russia, though details of such an initiative remain unclear. Previous US administrations have also sought to bring China into trilateral arms control talks, an idea Beijing has consistently resisted.
China maintains that its nuclear policy is fundamentally defensive. “China firmly adheres to a no-first-use nuclear weapons policy and upholds a nuclear strategy of self-defence,” Lin said. He stressed that Beijing “does not engage in nuclear arms races with any country,” arguing that its nuclear forces are kept at the minimum level required for national security.
As strategic competition between the world’s major powers intensifies, nuclear modernisation and arms control remain central and contentious issues. The latest exchange highlights the growing mistrust between Washington and Beijing, even as both sides acknowledge the need to avoid destabilising escalation in an increasingly complex global security environment.a
