US "China Has About 200 Nuclear Warheads" Report... China Says "Do Not Distort Facts"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] The U.S. Department of Defense released a report stating that China possesses a little over 200 nuclear warheads and that this number could at least double over the next decade, prompting an immediate backlash from the Chinese government, which accused the report of distorting the facts.

Hua Chunying, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a regular briefing on the 2nd, "The U.S. Department of Defense's announcement, like previous ones, is inconsistent with the facts and full of prejudice," adding, "China firmly opposes such actions." She emphasized, "China's constitution clearly states that China is following the path of peaceful development and promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind," and "China has consistently pursued a defensive national defense policy."

Spokesperson Hua also asserted, "China's military buildup is the legitimate right of a sovereign nation and is not subject to criticism," and claimed, "In fact, there is a significant difference between the military strengths of China and the United States." She added, "The U.S. defense budget exceeds the combined defense budgets of the next ten countries after the U.S.," and said, "We hope the United States will abandon Cold War thinking and zero-sum game mentality."

On the same day, the Chinese Ministry of National Defense's Press Office also criticized the U.S. report, stating, "It is filled with Cold War thinking of a zero-sum game. It highlights the so-called 'China military threat' to distort China's defense policy and military strategy." It further accused, "The United States is insulting issues related to the modernization of the Chinese military, defense spending, and nuclear policy, while escalating cross-strait (China and Taiwan) confrontation and tensions in the Taiwan Strait." The statement warned, "This is very wrong, and China strongly opposes it. We will respond further depending on the situation."

Earlier, on the 1st (local time), the U.S. Department of Defense submitted the '2020 China Military Power Report' to Congress, evaluating that China possesses a little over 200 nuclear warheads and that this number could at least double over the next decade. This is the first time the Department of Defense has disclosed a specific number regarding China's nuclear warhead stockpile. The U.S. disclosure of China's nuclear warhead count is interpreted as an effort to pressure China to participate in discussions on limiting nuclear forces while highlighting the necessity of modernizing U.S. nuclear capabilities.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.