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Chinese Nuclear Force Modernization and Doctrinal Change

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Accroche

Dating back to the first test in 1964, the Chinese nuclear force modernization process is motivated by other nuclear powers’ modernization across the years, mostly from the United States and the Soviet Union, but also by domestic factors such as economic debates and tensions in the scientific community.

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Chinese Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles JL-2 during a military parade in Beijing, October 2019
Chinese Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles JL-2 during a military parade in Beijing, October 2019
People’s Liberation Army
Corps analyses
At first, technical difficulties and a greater investment in conventional forces prevented the development of a ‘lean and effective arsenal’. However, the end of the Cold War and better economic conditions allowed China to improve its weapons toward a greater duality and mobility, thus reflecting the first tensions between the Chinese no-first-use doctrine and its growing technical capabilities and ambitions.
 
Nowadays, the Chinese nuclear arsenal is bigger than ever, ranking third in size amongst nuclear global powers and with an estimated 1,000 warheads in 2030. The weapons’ efficiency is also reportedly higher, aiming at a fully functioning triad. Furthermore, doctrinal debates are still ongoing, with potential consequences on arms control and risk management.

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Chinese Nuclear Force Modernization and Doctrinal Change

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 A soldier watching a sunset on an armored infantry fighting vehicle
Security Studies Center
Accroche centre

Heir to a tradition dating back to the founding of Ifri, the Security Studies Center provides public and private decision-makers as well as the general public with the keys to understanding power relations and contemporary modes of conflict as well as those to come. Through its positioning at the juncture of politics and operations, the credibility of its civil-military team and the wide distribution of its publications in French and English, the Center for Security Studies constitutes in the French landscape of think tanks a unique center of research and influence on the national and international defense debate.

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Date de publication
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Accroche

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Date de publication
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Accroche

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Date de publication
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Accroche

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Date de publication
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Chinese Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles JL-2 during a military parade in Beijing, October 2019
People’s Liberation Army

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Chinese Nuclear Force Modernization and Doctrinal Change