China has 600 nuclear warheads and is working on new intercontinental missiles, according to a Pentagon report published on Wednesday. The document also draws attention to corruption in the military, China's growing cooperation with Russia and the possibility of an invasion of Taiwan.
According to the report, the number of nuclear warheads has increased by 100 since last year. China they plan to further expand the arsenal by 2035. For comparison, according to the Arms Control Association, an American organization whose mission is to promote effective arms control policy, Russia and the US together have over five thousand nuclear warheads, of which each country can deploy up to 1,550.
The report indicates work on new ballistic missiles, including intercontinental missiles (ICBM), which is expected to force an increase in the production of nuclear weapons. It also describes the rapid development of the navy (the largest in the world) and the air force, which, according to Pentagon meet the standards of American aviation.
Russia's cooperation with North Korea poses a “reputation risk” to China
The Pentagon estimates that China is seeking to establish a new world order because it considers the current system “limiting China's strategic ambitions and incompatible with its sovereignty, security, political preferences and development interests.” As part of these activities, China is strengthening cooperation with Russia by supporting its military industry.
At the same time, Beijing does not like Russia's alliance with North Korea. The Pentagon emphasizes that Moscow's cooperation with Pyongyang is a “risk to China's reputation as a responsible great power, especially as Russia and North Korea cooperate to violate UN sanctions.”
Chinese People's Liberation ArmyWang Biao/VCG via Getty Images
“The possibility that Russia could transfer weapons technology or dual-use goods to support Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program is inconsistent with Beijing's stated opposition to nuclear weapons on the Peninsula,” the report said.
“The wave of corruption affects every service”
The authors of the report draw attention to the “wave of corruption” in the Chinese military, which affects high-ranking officers and officials. In 2023, at least 15 officers and defense industry managers were removed from their positions. Corruption may have slowed military modernization, and Chinese authorities have launched a sweeping anti-corruption purge.
“This wave of corruption affects every service in the National Liberation Army and may have shaken Beijing's confidence in the Army's leadership,” the document said. The Pentagon notes that “the achievement of modernization goals for 2027, including the modernization of equipment, theory and personnel, is uneven.”
The fate of Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun is unclear. Some U.S. officials have suggested he is being investigated for corruption. China, however, said reports about Dong's study “are shadow chasing.”
Dong JunAndres Martinez Casares/EPA/PAP
One of the Chinese government's goals, it says, is to achieve by 2027 capabilities that would make the army a more credible military tool in the CCP's efforts to reunify with Taiwan. Another objective is to deter or, if necessary, defeat third country intervention in the Indo-Pacific region.
Ready to invade Taiwan
Poll A survey by Taiwan's top military think tank, published in October, found that most Taiwanese consider an invasion unlikely in the next five years. However, residents still perceive Beijing as a serious threat to the island's democracy.
Over the past five years, the Chinese military has significantly increased its operations around Taiwan, despite strong opposition from the government in Taipei, and has never abandoned the use of force to take control of the island.
US officials, including the head of the Central Intelligence Agency, said that China's president Xi Jinping ordered his army to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027.
Main photo source: Wang Biao/VCG via Getty Images