China adds warheads as nuclear powers ‘walk away’ from disarmament: SIPRI

China has significantly expanded its nuclear warhead stockpile over the past year, adding 20 warheads to reach a total of 620, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The report, released Monday as part of SIPRI's latest yearbook, warns that major global powers are increasingly "walking away" from their disarmament commitments.

According to SIPRI's estimates, China's warhead stockpile is expected to continue growing over the next decade. While most Chinese warheads are believed to be stored separately, Beijing may have begun deploying warheads on missiles within mobile battalions during peacetime exercises. SIPRI estimates that the number of deployed nuclear warheads with operational forces may have increased to approximately 34 in January, up from 24 the previous year.

The report also highlights China's growing missile capabilities. As of January, China reportedly possessed 775 land-based missile silos, exceeding the number of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launchers operated by Russia or the United States. Chinese ICBM inventories are projected to match those of the other two nuclear powers by the end of the decade.

SIPRI cited U.S. government sources indicating that nuclear warheads might have been loaded into missiles housed in new silo fields and potentially aboard a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine conducting near-continuous deterrence patrols. This expansion and modernization of China's nuclear arsenal underscore a global trend of increasing nuclear capabilities among major powers.