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The United States’ top nuclear arms official on Friday accused China of carrying out an undisclosed nuclear explosive test in 2020, saying secretive underground activity by China and Russia is undermining a decadeslong nuclear testing moratorium, The Washington Post reports.
Thomas DiNanno, the U.S. undersecretary of state for arms control, told the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva that Beijing conducted a yield-producing test on June 22, 2020, and has interfered with international seismic monitoring systems to conceal such activity.
He said China is preparing tests with “designated yields in the hundreds of tons” and alleged that Russia is assisting Beijing in developing weapons-grade fissile material.
DiNanno did not provide details on the evidence supporting the U.S. assessment.
The remarks came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would not renew the New START treaty, the last major nuclear arms control agreement between Washington and Moscow, which expired this week.
Trump said the U.S. would instead pursue a “new, improved, and modernized” agreement.
In December, Trump said he ordered preparations to resume U.S. nuclear testing, which has been paused since 1992, citing alleged secret tests by Russia and China.
DiNanno said flaws in New START, serial Russian violations and the growth of global nuclear stockpiles made a new arms control framework necessary. He also said Russia recently tested the Burevestnik “Skyfall” cruise missile and the Poseidon nuclear-armed underwater vehicle.
China’s embassy in Washington said Beijing adheres to a nuclear testing moratorium and a “no first use” policy, urging the U.S. to uphold international disarmament commitments. Russia’s embassy did not comment.
DiNanno said Washington would seek a broader arms control agreement involving China and other nuclear states, though he acknowledged the process would be difficult.
A Pentagon report estimates China has just over 600 nuclear warheads and could reach 1,000 by 2030, compared with about 4,300 for Russia and 3,700 for the U.S., according to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
U.S. officials and analysts have previously raised concerns about possible low-yield nuclear activity at China’s Lop Nur test site, citing satellite imagery and continued expansion of underground facilities.
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