The U.S. government said it has determined that China secretly conducted a nuclear explosion test.
According to Newsweek and other foreign media on the 6th (local time), Thomas DiNanno, U.S. Department of State Vice Minister for arms control and international security, said at a disarmament conference in Geneva that day, "China tried to hide some tests, including in 2020, and concealed the tests by making the explosive situation ambiguous (obfuscate)."
DiNanno said, "The U.S. government is aware that China prepared for and carried out a designated nuclear test on the scale of hundreds of tons," and argued that the People's Liberation Army attempted a cover-up because it knew its nuclear test violated its promise to ban nuclear testing.
China, along with the United States, signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) adopted in 1996, but neither country has formally ratified it. However, China has pledged to comply with the international treaty banning nuclear tests.
Vice Minister DiNanno pointed out that China has rapidly expanded its nuclear weapons development over the past decade, currently possesses about 600 nuclear warheads, and is increasing by about 100 each year. He said, "If the current trend continues, China will have more than 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030," and also noted that Russia is supporting China's arms buildup.
Meanwhile, concerns about a nuclear arms race are growing after the only nuclear arms reduction treaty between the United States and Russia, which possess the most nuclear weapons in the world, expired on the 5th. U.S. President Donald Trump maintains that limits on nuclear weapons should remain in place and that China should also join arms reduction talks.
In response, Lin Jian, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson, said on the 3rd, "China's nuclear capability is by no means on the same level as the United States," adding, "At this stage, it is neither fair nor reasonable to ask China to participate in nuclear disarmament."