Fact-check: Chinese military threat? What to know about China's military development (2)

Is China engaging in the arms race and expanding its nuclear arsenal?

China is not, and will never be, engaged in any form of arms race. The country's nuclear policy is consistent and clear. China follows a self-defensive nuclear strategy, sticking to the policy of no-first-use of nuclear weapons. China has exercised utmost restraint in developing nuclear capabilities, maintaining them at the minimum level necessary for national security.

In contrast, the U.S. has the largest nuclear arsenal in the world. It has, in recent years, kept upgrading its "nuclear triad" and strengthening the role of nuclear weapons in its national security policies. To this day, the U.S. still clings to a nuclear deterrence policy based on the first use of nuclear weapons and openly devises nuclear deterrence strategies against particular countries. The U.S. is engaged in nuclear submarine cooperation with the U.K. and Australia, which violates the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).