Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs China has built a large research center that could boost its nuclear weapons development, according to satellite imagery, adding to Beijing’s rapid nuke expansion.Newsweek has emailed both the Chinese defense and foreign ministries for comment.Why It MattersThe number of Chinese operational nuclear warheads has increased by more than 100 to over 600, the Pentagon said in its report on Chinese military power last month, which enables China to target more United States cities, military facilities and leadership sites.The Chinese military hit back at the report, saying it developed nuclear weapons for self-defense. Beijing’s foreign ministry claimed that the country has been “forced” to develop nukes in response to threats, as well as to end nuclear monopoly and to prevent wars.What To KnowThe revelation of the new Chinese nuclear facility, in the city of Mianyang in the southwestern province of Sichuan, was reported by Reuters on Tuesday. It has a similar design to the U.S. National Ignition Facility (NIF) in California, the report said.In 2022, the NIF carried out a nuclear fusion experiment in which a laser shot produced more energy from fusion than the laser energy used to drive it. The Energy Department said this will pave the way for advancements in defense and the future of clean power.Decker Eveleth, analyst with the U.S.-based CNA Corporation, told Reuters that the Chinese research center has four laser bays and an experiment bay that accommodates a target chamber where lasers will fuse hydrogen isotopes together, a satellite image showed.China is believed to be building a large laser-ignited fusion research center, according to experts at @CNA_org and @JamesMartinCNS. The Reuters report shares satellite images showing the facility’s four arms for laser bays and the central target chamber to produce energy.… pic.twitter.com/V1XKqZF4Z0— Planet (@planet) January 28, 2025
The Chinese experiment bay, surrounded by the laser bays, is estimated to be 50 percent larger than the one at the NIF, which is the largest in the world, the analyst added. The Chinese research facility is officially known as the Laser Fusion Major Device Laboratory.According to Reuters, laser fusion enables researchers to study how such reactions work and to examine detonation that would otherwise require an explosive test. It also allows them to research how to create a clean power source using hydrogen in the future.The U.S. and China have signed the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which prohibits all nuclear explosions at any place, whether for military or peaceful purposes.The treaty’s signatories are allowed to carry out “subcritical” explosive tests, including laser fusion known as inertial confinement fusion, that do not yield nuclear reactions.
Young Chinese students look at a Chinese-made atomic bomb on display at the Military Museum in Beijing on July 16, 2007.
Young Chinese students look at a Chinese-made atomic bomb on display at the Military Museum in Beijing on July 16, 2007.
TEH ENG KOON/AFP via Getty Images
What People Are SayingWilliam Alberque, nuclear policy analyst at the U.S.-based Henry L. Stimson Center, told Reuters: “Any country with an NIF-type facility can and probably will be increasing their confidence and improving existing weapons designs, and facilitating the design of future bomb designs without testing [the weapons themselves].”The Pentagon said in its Chinese military power report: “The PRC [People’s Republic of China] is expanding its nuclear warhead production infrastructure. This infrastructure enables the PRC to produce, maintain, and refurbish a greater number of warheads in support of its nuclear stockpile expansion.”What Happens NextChina is likely to continue its nuclear force expansion and modernization. It remains to be seen whether Beijing would reengage in nuclear arms control talks with Washington.
