Beijing dominant partner in Russia-China relationship, US congressman Fallon says
Lawmaker admits both countries have had a long strategic partnership, but world has now ‘seen that senior partnership shift’ to China
“It was clearly the Soviets. Now it’s clearly the Chinese,” Fallon, who represents Texas’ fourth congressional district, said while talking about the balance of power in the relationship.
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China showcases new military hardware in massive Victory Day parade
Moscow was given notice about the call between Trump and Xi, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed to Russia’s Interfax news agency.
Speaking about Russia, Fallon argued, “their conventional force has proven not to be the tiger that we thought it was, or the bear, I should say, clearly China’s the greater threat”.
“There’s just no doubt, and that’s why there’s been a pivot to Asia,” he added.
The discussion with senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, Rebeccah Heinrichs, examined how having allies geographically closer to China is critical going forward, as it allows the US to strengthen its defence posture.
“That’s the threat moving forward,” he said of China.
“I remember as a kid at Thanksgiving circa 1980. On television, the commentator said the Chinese wish to be a superpower within the next 50 years ... Well, they’re 25 years early because they made it rather quickly.”
Why China’s nuclear arsenal is under fire as US-Russia pact falls apart
US accusations about secret Chinese nuclear tests surface amid arms race anxieties, but Beijing says concerns over its weapons are all hype
The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), the global body tasked with detecting nuclear explosions, said its monitoring system “did not detect any event consistent with the characteristics of a nuclear weapon test explosion” at the time of the alleged Chinese test.
Robert Floyd, the body’s executive secretary, said in a statement the same day that more detailed analyses supported the CTBTO’s assessment.
The United States on Friday accused China of failing to disclose a 2020 nuclear test, an act a US official said violated an understanding involving a 1996 test ban treaty. Although both countries signed the pact, neither has ratified it.
The timing of the US accusation highlights the tensions over a collapsing global arms control framework and anxieties over the scale of Beijing’s nuclear capabilities.
“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 tonnes,” said Thomas DiNanno, US undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, speaking at a disarmament conference in Geneva.
Shen Jian, China’s ambassador for disarmament affairs, declined to confirm or deny DiNanno’s accusations on Friday but said China “acts prudently” on nuclear issues.
“China notes that the US continues in its statement to hype up the so-called China nuclear threat. China firmly opposes such false narratives,” Shen said, adding that Washington “is the culprit for the aggravation of the arms race”.
What was New Start?
New Start was the world’s last binding nuclear arms control agreement. Signed in 2010, it limited each side to no more than 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and no more than 800 deployed and non-deployed ballistic missile launchers and heavy bombers.
Although the US-Russia pact expired on Thursday, Moscow had proposed extending it for one year.
The absence of a renewed treaty has raised widespread fears of a new global arms race.
The Trump administration has insisted that New Start put the US at a disadvantage and has called upon Beijing to join future arms control negotiations – a proposal China has rejected.
Why does China reject trilateral nuclear talks?
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Lin Jian emphasised last week that China’s nuclear capabilities were “not on the same scale” as those of the US and Russia. He added that Beijing “regrets” the treaty’s expiry but that “the primary responsibility for nuclear disarmament should rest with the countries possessing the largest nuclear arsenals”.
In November, Beijing published a white paper stating that China would not pursue a nuclear arms race and opposed the deployment of offensive missiles by the US in Asia.
In the document, Beijing said its nuclear forces had always been maintained at the minimum level necessary to safeguard national security.
“Given its vast territory and complex security environment, these capabilities are meant to safeguard sovereignty, maintain security and deter war, and are not directed at any other country or region,” it said.
Beijing has long underscored its “no first-use” nuclear policy, and has pledged to unconditionally refrain from using nuclear weapons against non-nuclear states or in nuclear-free zones.
How many nuclear weapons does China have?
According to a report released in June by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), China has around 600 nuclear warheads. It noted that since 2023, Beijing had added roughly 100 warheads annually.
The institute said that even if China were to reach its projected peak of 1,500 nuclear warheads by 2035, its arsenal would still be only about a third the size of each of the current Russian and US nuclear stockpiles.
According to SIPRI estimates, the US has 5,177 nuclear warheads, with 3,700 held in military stockpiles, while Russia has 5,459 nuclear warheads, with 4,309 held in military stockpiles.
In October, the Communist Party’s proposals for the country’s next five-year plan covering 2026-2030 included a commitment to “enhance strategic deterrence capabilities and uphold global strategic equilibrium and stability” – a reference typically understood to mean nuclear forces.
Experts have interpreted this as signalling Beijing’s intent to expand its nuclear arsenal.
China successfully tested its first atomic bomb in 1964 and carried out its first hydrogen bomb test in 1967.
Beijing has stated that its last nuclear test was conducted in 1996.
Washington has repeatedly accused Beijing’s nuclear policy of lacking transparency, alleging that it has substantially expanded its nuclear arsenal.
The Pentagon has projected China could possess around 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030.
Other systems revealed at the Victory Day parade were the JL-3 submarine-launched ballistic missile, as well as the DF-61, DF-31BJ and DF-5C intercontinental ballistic missiles, which are believed to be capable of reaching the continental US.
