Overview
- China’s Ministry of National Defense labeled U.S. allegations of a Chinese nuclear explosion as unfounded and reaffirmed its no-first-use, self-defensive nuclear posture.
- Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang said China maintains its arsenal at the minimum level required for national security and is not engaged in a nuclear arms race.
- U.S. arms control official Christopher Yeaw recently cited a magnitude 2.75 seismic event on June 22, 2020, as evidence of a probable Chinese underground test.
- Beijing urged the United States to fulfill obligations under the CTBT and uphold the testing moratorium, accusing Washington of treaty withdrawals and backtracking on commitments.
- China also rejected remarks by Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi about Chinese coercion, warning against Japanese rearmament and changes to arms-export policy.