China has forcefully rejected Donald Trump’s narrative that it is conducting secret nuclear tests, positioning itself as a “responsible nuclear-weapons state” in contrast to the former president’s escalatory rhetoric. The denial came after Trump ordered the U.S. to resume its own testing.
Trump made the allegations in a ‘60 minutes’ interview, claiming both China and Russia were testing secretly. “I don’t want to be the only country that doesn’t test,” he said, signaling a major shift in U.S. policy.
China’s foreign ministry responded by stating it has always “abided by its commitment to suspend nuclear testing.” The ministry emphasized that its nuclear strategy is purely for “self-defence.”
The former president’s order, first revealed on social media, instructed the “Department of War” to begin testing “on an equal basis” with these other nations. This has sparked confusion, as no country besides North Korea is known to have detonated a nuclear weapon in decades.
Trump, however, remained insistent, claiming, “this is a big world. You don’t necessarily know where they’re testing.” He also boasted of the U.S. arsenal’s size, claiming it was the world’s largest and had been recently renovated.
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