China and weapons of mass destruction

The People's Republic of China has possessed nuclear weapons since the 1960s. It was the last to develop them of the five nuclear-weapon states recognized by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). China acceded to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) in 1984, acceded to the NPT in 1992, and ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in 1997.

China tested its first nuclear bomb in 1964 and its first full-scale thermonuclear bomb in 1967. It carried out 45 nuclear tests before signing the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty in 1996.

The Federation of American Scientists and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimate China's stockpile at approximately 600 nuclear warheads since 2025Template:Dated maintenance category (articles), making it the third-largest in the world. It is the only NPT nuclear-weapon state significantly expanding its arsenal, which has doubled since 2019, and is projected to reach between 750 and 1,500 warheads by 2035, although it has not restarted fissile material production. Unlike the US and Russia, nearly all Chinese warheads are believed to be in central storage, separate from their delivery system.

Since 2020, China has operated a nuclear triad. Of its 600 warheads, it is estimated 376 are assigned to Dongfeng intermediate and intercontinental ballistic missiles, 72 to Julang-3 submarine-launched ballistic missiles on Type 094 submarines, and 20 to Jinglei-1 air-launched ballistic missiles on Xi'an H-6N bombers. A remaining 132 warheads await assignment.

In 1964, China adopted a policy of no-first-use (NFU) and called for an international NFU treaty, both of which it continues to renew. Some of its nuclear forces are reported to have moved toward a launch on warning (LOW) posture in the early 2020s.

China denies current offensive chemical and biological weapons programs, while the US alleges it is not in compliance with treaty obligations. In its declaration to the OPCW, China claimed it destroyed its three chemical weapon production facilities and stockpile.

During the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Imperial Japanese Army's biological warfare department, led by Unit 731, used bubonic plague, cholera, and other pathogens, killing between 200,000 and 500,000 people. Japanese forces also used chemical weapons including lewisite and mustard gas, causing over 90,000 deaths or casualties. Some 700,000 to 2 million Japanese chemical weapons were abandoned in China, with less than 100,000 recovered since 2023Template:Dated maintenance category (articles).

Nuclear weapons

History

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Satellite image of the testing site 4 days after China's first atomic bomb test

Delivery systems

The PRC makes use of the country's large geographic area as a strategy to protect its nuclear forces against a theoretical first strike against the country.Template:Rp Nuclear missile units are dispersed and missile brigades are not located in the same places as the bases that command them.Template:Rp The nuclear forces are commanded by six missile bases located in Liaoning, Anhui, Yunnan, Hunan, Henan, and Gansu.Template:Rp Most of the nuclear forces are commanded by the three missile bases in the interior of the country (in Hunan, Henan, and Gansu).Template:Rp

China stores many of its missiles in huge tunnel complexes; US Representative Michael Turner referring to 2009 Chinese media reports said "This network of tunnels could be in excess of 5,000 kilometers (3,110 miles), and is used to transport nuclear weapons and forces." A People's Liberation Army newspaper calls this tunnel system an underground Great Wall of China. The PRC has traditionally focused more on its land-based nuclear weapons than other delivery systems as they are more readily controllable by the country's political leadership.

Chemical weapons

Scholars agree that information on a current offensive chemical weapons program is extremely limited, allowing either a small clandestine program or no program at all. Chinese officials have never publicly admitted to an offensive chemical weapons program, and there is no unclassified confirmation of one. Per the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), China had a significant quantity of chemical weapons until the 1980s, and in its 1997 declaration to the CWC, China claimed it destroyed three chemical weapon production facilities and its existing stockpile. China signed the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) on January 13, 1993, and ratified it on April 25, 1997.

Albania

The PRC is believed to have supplied Albania with chemical weapons in the 1970s during the Cold War. In 1999, the Federation of American Scientists mentioned in passing an allegation of Chinese-origin mustard gas potentially intended for training found in Albania. In 2003, Albania declared 16 tons of mustard gas to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) which was later destroyed. Scholars have questioned the extent to which the stockpile was previously known to Albanian and Western officials. In regard to China, Matthew V. Tompkins writing in the Nonproliferation Review posited the reluctance of the OPCW, United States, and European Union to confront China over a tacitly acknowledged offensive chemical weapons capability.

Cultural Revolution

During the Cultural Revolution, weapons of mass destruction, including chemical weapons were seized during conflicts, but not directly used. Citizens wrote letters to the Zhongnanhai residence of government leaders, warning of attacks on facilities that stored poisonous plant samples, poison gas, toxicants, and other dangerous substances.Template:Rp

Historical

Republic of China

During Republic of China's Warlord Era, the warlords Zhao Hengti, Cao Kun, Feng Yuxiang, and Zhang Zuolin. Zhang secured an agreement to build a factory in Shenyang to manufacture mustard gas, phosgene, and chlorine, with the German company Witte and German and Russian chemical engineers. Zhao received a small shipment of "gas-producing shells" in August 1921.

Second Sino-Japanese War

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Japanese soldiers wearing gas masks fire chemical artillery shells during the Battle of Wuhan, 1938.

The Imperial Japanese Army used chemical weapons during the Second Sino-Japanese War, including lewisite, mustard, cyanide, phosgene, and probably a range of irritating gases. Chinese historians estimate that Japanese forces used chemical weapons on over 2,000 instances, killing or wounding 90,000 to 100,000 people. More recent scholars suggest that the numbers may be even higher, as many survivors did not realize that they had experienced chemical attacks. In spring 1944, the US began to discuss retaliatory chemical use against Japan, significantly decreasing Japanese chemical attacks in China for the remainder of the war.

This resulted in an estimated 700,000 to 2 million abandoned chemical weapons in China. Many are improperly stored, unlocated, or buried. since 2023Template:Dated maintenance category (articles), less than 100,000 of these have been recovered, with joint work between China and Japan to destroy them. They are estimated to have caused 500 to 2,000 injuries and at least 5 deaths in China.

Korean War

Some Chinese sources allege that during the Korean War, the United States Army and Republic of Korea Army used chemical weapons against units of the People's Volunteer Army (PVA) and Korean People's Army. This included rocket artillery, artillery shells, and hand grenades. A mixture of chloropicrin and phenacyl chloride, as well as a "sneezing powder" are alleged to have been used, with grenades being targeted against the PVA's tunnel warfare.

Radiological weapons

During the Cultural Revolution, in Changchun, rebels working in geological institutes developed and tested a dirty bomb, a crude radiological weapon, testing two "radioactive self-defense bombs" and two "radioactive self-defense mines" on 6 and 11 August 1967.Template:Rp

See also

• 863 Program
• List of nuclear weapons tests of China
• List of states with nuclear weapons
• People's Liberation Army
• Project 596
• Taiwan and weapons of mass destruction
• Two Bombs, One Satellite
• Underground Great Wall of China
• Japan and weapons of mass destruction
• Unit 731
• Unit 516