China already has 500 warheads and continues to build up its nuclear arsenal faster than any other country

A European think tank said that China has outperformed other superpowers when it comes to increasing its stockpile of nuclear warheads: from 410 to 500 in a year.

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"China is building up its nuclear arsenal faster than any other country," said Hans Christensen, a weapons of mass destruction expert at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

According to SIPRI, China increased the number of nuclear warheads from 410 in 2023 to 500 earlier this year. But China, Christensen said, is not the only country that has been busy expanding its nuclear arsenal.

North Korea has increased the number of warheads by two-thirds over the past year, from 30 in 2023 to 50 this year. However, the nuclear stockpiles of these countries still cannot match those of the United States and Russia. In terms of the total arsenal, the United States has 5,044 warheads and Russia has 5,580. Their total stockpile accounts for almost 90% of the world's nuclear weapons, according to SIPRI.

"In 2020, the Ministry of Defence estimated that China's operational stockpile of nuclear warheads was around 200 and is expected to at least double by 2030. However, Beijing has accelerated its nuclear expansion, and the Ministry of Defence estimates that as of May 2023, China's arsenal had more than 500 active nuclear warheads," the report says.

Source: SIPRI