US accuses China of secret nuclear testing, urges broader arms treaty including Beijing
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "US accuses China of secret nuclear testing, urges broader arms treaty including Beijing")
The JL-1 first generation nuclear submarine-launched ballistic missile is seen during a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of victory over Japan and the end of World War II, in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on September 3, 2025. Photograph: (AFP (File Photo)
China dismissed the accusations, described itself as a responsible nuclear nation, and blamed the United States for triggering an arms race globally.
The United States on Friday (Feb 06) accused Beijing of conducting a secret nuclear test in 2020 as it urged for a fresh, extensive arms control treaty that includes China alongside Russia. These accusations from Washington came a day after the treaty limiting US and Russia missile and warhead numbers expired.
"I can reveal that the US government is aware that China has conducted nuclear explosive tests, including preparing for tests with designated yields in the hundreds of tons," US Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Thomas DiNanno told a Disarmament Conference in Geneva.
DiNanno revealed that "China sought to conceal testing by obfuscating the nuclear explosions because it recognised these tests violate test ban commitments. China has used 'decoupling', a method to decrease the effectiveness of seismic monitoring, to hide its activities from the world," adding that Beijing had conducted one such "yield-producing test" on June 22, 2020.
China's ambassador on Disarmament, Shen Jian, gave a veiled reply to DiNanno's accessions saying that China had acted responsibly on nuclear issues and accused the US of triggering an arms race. "China notes that the US continues in its statement to hype up the so-called China nuclear threat. China firmly opposes such false narratives," he said.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin on Friday said that the United States and Russia agree that it is necessary to renew the nuclear talks as the treaty limiting nuclear arsenal expired.
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Moscow confirmed that both countries are resuming high-level military contacts after an agreement reached at two-day talks in Abu Dhabi, which was intended to resolve the Ukraine war.
These developments come after The Doomsday Clock on January 27 flagged the threat of nuclear catastrophe as it moved four seconds to reach 85 seconds to midnight.
The Doomsday Clock is a metaphorical measure of how close humanity is to destroying the world through technologies of its own making, especially nuclear weapons. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which created the clock at the start of the Cold War, announced that it has advanced by four seconds compared with a year ago, bringing it closest to a global catastrophe in its history.
