Editing People's Liberation Army (section)

=== Nuclear capabilities ===
{{Main|China and weapons of mass destruction}}

[[File:Medium and Intercontinental Range Ballistic Missiles.png|thumb|upright=1.35|The range of [[People's Liberation Army Rocket Force|the PLA Rocket Force's]] medium and intercontinental ballistic missiles (2006)]]

The first of [[List of nuclear weapons tests of China|China's nuclear weapons tests]] took place in 1964, and its [[Test No. 6|first hydrogen bomb test]] occurred in 1967 at [[Lop Nur]]. Tests continued until 1996, when the country signed the [[Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty]] (CTBT), but did not ratify it.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Borger |first=Julian |author-link=Julian Borger |date=2020-04-16 |title=China may have conducted low-level nuclear test, US claims |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/16/china-may-have-conducted-low-level-nuclear-test-us-report-claims |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529174223/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/16/china-may-have-conducted-low-level-nuclear-test-us-report-claims |archive-date=May 29, 2023 |access-date=2023-05-29 |work=[[The Guardian]] |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

The number of nuclear warheads in China's arsenal remains a state secret.<ref name=":9">{{Cite journal |last1=Kristensen |first1=Hans M. |author-link=Hans M. Kristensen |last2=Korda |first2=Matt |last3=Johns |first3=Eliana |last4=Knight |first4=Mackenzie |date=2024-01-02 |title=Chinese nuclear weapons, 2024 |journal=[[Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists]] |language=en |volume=80 |issue=1 |pages=49–72 |doi=10.1080/00963402.2023.2295206 |issn=0096-3402 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2024BuAtS..80a..49K }}</ref> There are varying estimates of the size of China's arsenal. The ''[[Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists]]'' and [[Federation of American Scientists]] estimated in 2024 that China has a stockpile of approximately 438 nuclear warheads,<ref name=":9" /><ref name=":32">{{Cite web |date=March 31, 2023 |title=Status of World Nuclear Forces |url=https://fas.org/initiative/status-world-nuclear-forces/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529182756/https://fas.org/initiative/status-world-nuclear-forces/ |archive-date=May 29, 2023 |access-date=2023-05-29 |website=[[Federation of American Scientists]] |language=en-US}}</ref> while the [[United States Department of Defense]] put the estimate at more than 500 operational nuclear warheads,<ref name=":8">{{Cite news |last=Feng |first=Emily |date=October 19, 2023 |title=New Pentagon report claims China now has over 500 operational nuclear warheads |url=https://www.npr.org/2023/10/19/1207156597/new-pentagon-report-claims-china-now-has-over-500-operational-nuclear-warheads |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231020031121/https://www.npr.org/2023/10/19/1207156597/new-pentagon-report-claims-china-now-has-over-500-operational-nuclear-warheads |archive-date=October 20, 2023 |access-date=October 19, 2023 |work=[[NPR]]}}</ref> making it the [[List of countries with nuclear weapons#Estimated worldwide nuclear stockpiles|third-largest]] in the world.

China's policy has traditionally been one of [[no first use]] while maintaining a deterrent retaliatory force targeted for [[countervalue]] targets.<ref name=":22">{{Cite journal |last1=Kristensen |first1=Hans M. |author-link=Hans M. Kristensen |last2=Korda |first2=Matt |last3=Reynolds |first3=Eliana |date=2023-03-04 |title=Chinese nuclear weapons, 2023 |journal=[[Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists]] |language=en |volume=79 |issue=2 |pages=108–133 |bibcode=2023BuAtS..79b.108K |doi=10.1080/00963402.2023.2178713 |issn=0096-3402 |doi-access=free}}</ref> According to a 2023 study by the [[National Defense University (Washington, D.C.)|National Defense University]], China's nuclear doctrine has historically leaned toward maintaining a secure [[Second strike|second-strike]] capability.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Logan |first1=David C |last2=Saunders |first2=Philip C. |date=July 26, 2023 |title=Discerning the Drivers of China's Nuclear Force Development: Models, Indicators, and Data |url=https://ndupress.ndu.edu/Media/News/News-Article-View/Article/3471053/discerning-the-drivers-of-chinas-nuclear-force-development-models-indicators-an/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230930001818/https://ndupress.ndu.edu/Media/News/News-Article-View/Article/3471053/discerning-the-drivers-of-chinas-nuclear-force-development-models-indicators-an/ |archive-date=September 30, 2023 |access-date=2023-09-16 |website=[[National Defense University Press]] |language=en-US}}</ref>