Beijing is looking to at least double its stockpile of nuclear warheads within the next decade and has already surpassed the U.S. military in several key areas, the Pentagon said in its annual report on the Chinese military released Tuesday.
The congressionally mandated report, which focuses on Chinese military power and the direction of the country’s armed forces, said China currently possesses a stockpile “estimated to be in the low 200s.”
The revelation was the first time that U.S. intelligence estimates on the number of Chinese warheads had been made public, according to Chad Sbragia, deputy assistant defense secretary for China.