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International relations

China's nuclear arsenal to swell fivefold by 2030: Pentagon

Annual report to Congress warns of ability to deter Taiwan intervention

Military vehicles carrying DF-41 intercontinental ballistic missiles travel past Tiananmen Square during a military parade.   © Reuters

WASHINGTON -- China is on track to quintuple its nuclear arsenal by 2030 to at least 1,000 warheads, the Pentagon said Wednesday in its annual report on Beijing's military power, markedly upgrading last year's assessment.

This year's edition of "Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China" also highlights Beijing's improving space and cyber capabilities as the People's Liberation Army advances toward its 2027 modernization goals, by which time the report said the PLA could have as many as 700 deliverable nuclear warheads.

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