Pentagon Says Beijing Could Have More Than 1,000 Nuclear Warheads By 2030, US: China Continues To Modernize

China's Dong Feng 26 nuclear-capable ballistic missile. (Wikimedia Commons/IceUnshattered)

JAKARTA - China's nuclear power is beyond projections, as the annual report of the United States Department of Defense (Pentagon) revealed the number of nuclear warheads the country has in its release on Thursday.

The Pentagon report states that China has more than 500 nuclear warheads in its arsenal, and will likely have more than 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030.

The Pentagon said that the number of Chinese nuclear warheads in May 2023, which will reach 500, is beyond projections. In previous reports, the Pentagon estimated that Beijing had more than 400 operational nuclear warheads in 2021.

"We see that the PRC (People's Republic of China) continues to modernize, diversify, and expand its nuclear forces quite quickly," said a senior official from Uncle Sam's country, reported by Reuters, on October 20.

"What they are doing now if you compare it to what they were doing about a decade ago, it is far beyond the scale and complexity," the official continued.

Although the number of nuclear warheads in the Bamboo Curtain country is beyond projections, it is far lower than the number of the world's two main nuclear powers, Russia and the United States.

The United States has an inventory of approximately 3,700 nuclear warheads, and approximately 1,419 deployed strategic nuclear warheads.

Meanwhile, Russia has around 1,550 deployed nuclear weapons and according to the Federation of American Scientists, has 4,489 nuclear warheads.

Furthermore, the report also stated that the Chinese Navy has more than 370 ships and submarines, up from the 340 ships they had last year.

Expanding naval power is at the heart of President Xi Jinping's efforts to make China the leading military power in the region, with Beijing already possessing the world's largest navy.

It is known that relations between China and the United States are tense, with disputes between the two countries with the world's largest economies regarding everything from Taiwan, its humanitarian record to its military activities in the South China Sea.

However, Washington is eager to revive military-to-military communications with Beijing.

Last week, the Pentagon said it had accepted an invitation to attend China's annual security forum in late October, the latest sign of potential warming in ties between the two countries' militaries.