China is rapidly increasing the power of its nuclear weapons. According to the new report of SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute), by January 2026, China will have 620 nuclear warheads. This number was 600 in January 2025. That means China added 20 new warheads in a year. Accordingly, it is adding a new nuclear warhead to its arsenal approximately every 18 days.
According to the report, China is not only increasing the number of warheads, but is also modernizing its entire nuclear weapons program. SIPRI estimates that China’s nuclear stockpile will continue to grow in the next 10 years. However, China says that its nuclear policy is completely defensive. It follows the policy of no first use i.e. no first nuclear attack and maintains only the minimum nuclear power necessary for its security.
China has more ICBMs than US
By January 2026, China had 775 ground-based missile silos. These are bases from where long range missiles can be fired. The report says that China now has more Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) launchers than Russia and America. It is estimated that by the end of this decade, China’s ICBM stockpile may reach equal to that of Russia and America.
SIPRI says that most of China’s nuclear weapons are still kept separate from missiles. But now China has started deploying warheads in some mobile missile units even during peace time. In January 2025, China had about 24 deployed nuclear warheads, which will increase to about 34 in 2026. The report quoted American sources as saying that China may have installed nuclear warheads on some of the nearly 100 missiles kept in its three new missile silo areas. Apart from this, the possibility of deploying nuclear weapons on a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine has also been expressed.
China increased nuclear capable missiles
China also displayed new intercontinental missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles and nuclear-capable missiles used in air strikes in a military parade last year. It has increased the number of DF-26 missiles and has also made its bomber planes capable of carrying nuclear weapons.
Till when will China compete with Russia and US?
According to the report, even if China has more than 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030, this number will still be only about one-fourth of the current stockpile of Russia and America. SIPRI also said that all the 9 nuclear weapons possessing countries of the world – America, Russia, China, Britain, France, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel are continuously modernizing their nuclear weapons. As of January 2026, a total of 12,187 nuclear warheads existed in the world, of which 9,745 were kept for military use.
Nuclear weapons decreased, but danger increased
The total number of nuclear weapons in the world was 12,241 last year, which has come down to 12,187. The reason for this is that Russia and America destroyed some of their old nuclear weapons. But a matter of concern is that the number of nuclear weapons ready for immediate use has increased. Last year this number was 3,912, which has now increased to 4,012.
Of these, about 2,100 to 2,200 nuclear weapons are mounted on ballistic missiles, which can be fired in a very short time. Most of these weapons are from Russia and America. Britain and France have also kept some of their nuclear weapons on alert. At the same time, China and India have also started installing nuclear warheads on their missiles on some occasions during peace time.
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