Beijing [China]: China has strongly refuted US President Donald Trump’s accusation that it is secretly conducting nuclear weapons tests, dismissing the claim as “completely false.”
Responding to Trump’s remarks made during a CBS interview on Sunday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning reaffirmed Beijing’s commitment to a defensive nuclear strategy and its adherence to a moratorium on nuclear testing.
“As a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a nuclear-weapon state, China follows a policy of no first use of nuclear weapons, maintains a self-defensive nuclear strategy, and has fully observed its commitment to halt nuclear testing,” Mao said, as quoted by Global Times.
She further stressed that China supports the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and urged Washington to uphold its own responsibilities under the pact. “We hope the United States will also continue its moratorium on nuclear testing and contribute to global peace and stability,” she added.
During his CBS 60 Minutes interview, Trump claimed that several nations — including Russia, China, North Korea, and Pakistan — were already carrying out nuclear tests, suggesting that the US should resume its own testing program.
“Russia’s testing and China’s testing, but they don’t talk about it. We’re an open society — other countries are testing. We’re the only country that doesn’t,” Trump said, adding, “We’re going to test because they test, and others test. Certainly, North Korea’s been testing. Pakistan’s been testing.”
Trump made the comments while discussing his plan to restart nuclear weapons testing after more than three decades, citing Russia’s recent trials of advanced nuclear-capable systems, including the Poseidon underwater drone.
“The reason I’m saying testing is because Russia announced they were going to be doing a test. North Korea is testing constantly. Other countries are testing. We’re the only one that doesn’t, and I don’t want to be the only one,” he stated.
He further claimed that the United States possesses “more nuclear weapons than any other country” and revealed that he had previously discussed denuclearization efforts with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“We have enough nuclear weapons to blow up the world 150 times,” Trump said. “Russia has a lot of nuclear weapons, and China will have quite a bit too.”
Last Thursday, Trump announced the immediate resumption of US nuclear weapons testing, pointing to Russia’s recent actions as justification. Before boarding Air Force One, he told reporters that while denuclearization would be “a tremendous thing,” restarting nuclear tests was “appropriate” given the actions of other powers.
“They seem to all be nuclear testing,” Trump said. “We have more nuclear weapons than anybody. We don’t do testing — but if others are testing, I think it’s appropriate that we do also.”
He also claimed that preparations for testing were already underway but did not reveal specific details about the timing or location. When asked if such a move could heighten global nuclear tensions, Trump responded, “I think we have it pretty well locked up.”
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin recently signed a law officially terminating a long-dormant plutonium disposal agreement with the US. The 2000 pact required both nations to dispose of 34 tonnes of weapons-grade plutonium that were no longer intended for military use, a key measure aimed at curbing nuclear proliferation.
