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China’s Nuclear Warhead Buildup Exceeding Previous Projections, New DoD Report Says

By Matthew Beinart

Thursday, October 19th, 2023

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China’s Nuclear Warhead Buildup Exceeding Previous Projections, New DoD Report Says

People's Liberation Army's Bayi Building in Beijing, China. (DoD photo by Army Sgt. Amber I. Smith)

The Pentagon estimates that China now has more than 500 operational nuclear warheads, a hundred more than last year, and projects that Beijing will have over 1,000 such weapons by 2030. China’s push to grow its nuclear stockpile is exceeding previous projections, according to the Pentagon’s new “China Military Power” report released on Thursday, which also details the department’s latest insights on Beijing’s military modernization effort. “Compared to the [People’s Liberation Army’s] (PLA) nuclear modernization efforts a decade ago, current…

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