The Washington Post: China Is Preparing For Nuclear War
- 9.03.2026, 18:14
Journalists pointed out the troubling signal.
As Robert Peters, senior fellow for strategic deterrence at the Heritage Foundation's Ellison Center for National Security, writes in a piece for The Washington Post, China was testing nuclear weapons years before Trump's directive to the U.S. government. Moreover, Beijing is likely building a nuclear arsenal not for deterrence but for nuclear warfare.
Peters noted that China continues to deny conducting any nuclear tests and has even called on the U.S. to abandon its plan. However, just days after Trump's October announcement, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee said that the CIA had intelligence that both Russia and China had tested supercritical nuclear weapons.
On February 6, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Thomas DiNanno revealed during a speech in Geneva that China had tested nuclear explosive devices with a claimed yield of hundreds of kilotons. He shared that Beijing tried to cover up the tests by using "decoupling," a method of reducing the effectiveness of seismic monitoring.
Peters also recalled that on February 17, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control and Nonproliferation Christopher Yeo provided more specific details of China's nuclear weapons test, which he said took place on June 22, 2020.
"The likely explosion occurred in close proximity to the Lop Nur nuclear test site. The test was supercritical. It resulted in a release of energy, which is pretty obvious from the seismic plots," Yeoh recounted.
In addition, the executive secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization said on February 17 that the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization's International Monitoring System (CTBTO) recorded two very small seismic events 12 seconds apart on June 22, 2020.
Peters stressed that these findings coincide with U.S. government claims that China is conducting clandestine testing He also noted that Beijing has yet to invite international observers to the Lop Nur test site to assess the validity of U.S. claims.
Peters noted that China is the fastest growing nuclear power in the world. Moreover, Beijing refuses to engage in any meaningful discussions on strategic stability. He believes that China may be preparing for nuclear war.
The expert summarized that technical evidence indicates that China has indeed conducted a secret test of a very low-yield nuclear weapon, but is lying about it. As such, the U.S. and its allies should be very concerned about Beijing's intentions.