China ‘won’t win more respect’ if it expands nuclear arsenal following calls from national media, analyst says
- Editor of nationalistic tabloid wants Beijing to increase warheads to 1,000, including at least 100 ballistic missiles that can reach US mainland
- But analyst says argument made by Hu Xijin and others isn’t convincing, and such a move could harm China’s credibility and national interests
Calls for Beijing to expand its nuclear arsenal reflect its rocky relations with Washington, and any reckless moves could damage the nation’s credibility, according to an analyst.
Ties between the two countries have deteriorated sharply since Washington labelled Beijing a strategic rival in 2017, and belligerent opinion leaders in China have called for the People’s Liberation Army to add to its stockpile of nuclear warheads to deter an “increasingly irrational” United States.
The latest call came on Friday, when Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of nationalistic tabloid Global Times, posted on social media that China should increase its nuclear warheads to 1,000, including “at least 100 DF-41” intercontinental ballistic missiles that can reach the US mainland.
Hu’s post received wide support on social media network Weibo, China’s Twitter.
02:31
China is one of five recognised nuclear powers under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Its nuclear arsenal is believed to be comparable to those of Britain and France, with about 200 to 300 warheads.