• Source:JND
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China is aggressively expanding its nuclear weapons infrastructure by building bunkers and facilities in Zitong near the Sichuan province, located in the southwest part of the country. Another valley in the Pingtong valley is home to a double-fenced facility where scientists believe that China is making plutonium-packed cores of nuclear warheads. 

According to a report by The New York Times, the facility in Zitong has a new complex bristles with pipes, suggesting that the facility handles very hazardous chemicals. The facility in the Pingtong valley is dominated by a 360-foot-high ventilation stack, which has been refurbished in recent years with new vents and heat dispersers. At the entrance of the facility, a large cut-out poster displaying President Xi Jinping’s slogan, “Stay true to the founding cause and always remember our mission.”

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Pintong Nuclear Site (Satellite Image: The New York Times)

The sites in Sichuan province were built six decades ago as part of Mao Zedong’s ‘Third Front’ project to shield China’s nuclear arsenal from US attacks post World War 2. Thousands of scientists, engineers, workers and labourers worked for days to carve out bunkers in the mountainous interiors of the country. 

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China’s Growing Nuclear Might

According to the Pentagon’s latest annual estimate, cited by The New York Times, China had more than 600 nuclear warheads by the end of 2024. Given the way China is accelerating its nuclear capabilities, the country is expected to have nearly 1,000 nuclear warheads by the end of 2030. “China’s stockpile is much smaller than the many thousands held by the United States and Russia, but the growth is still troublesome,” said Matthew Sharp, quoted by the New York Times.

Sharp further said that a lack of any dialogue between Beijing and Washington around the nuclear arsenal is further aggravating the situation and pushing it towards a complete fallout. “Without a real dialogue on these topics, which we lack, it’s really hard to say where it’s going," he said. “Now we’re forced to react and plan around the worst-case interpretation of a concerning trend line."

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Washington Keeps Close Watch On Beijing

The nuclear developments in China are closely followed by Washington, which is becoming a growing concern between the two countries. Earlier, Thomas G DiNanno, the US State Department’s under secretary for arms control and international security, accused Beijing of secretly carrying out nuclear explosive tests, which is a breach of trust for global peace. 

In response, China rejected the allegation, calling it “untrue" and denying any violation of international understanding. This fierce exchange of political dialogues has added to the mistrust between both nations, thereby raising concerns about the military arsenal. 


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