China has been carrying out a massive expansion of infrastructure linked to missile production since 2020, reveals the CNNwhich was based on satellite images, maps and government communications.
This historic expansion reinforces China’s capacity to eventually deter US armed forces and asserts its dominance in that part of the world.
More than 60% of the 136 infrastructures linked to the production of missiles or the rocket force of the Chinese armed forces, which controls China’s nuclear arsenal, showed signs of expansion in satellite images, according to the North American station.
Infrastructure, which includes factories, research and testing centers, has expanded by more than 2 million square meters since the beginning of 2020. New towers, bunkers and embankments, typical of weapons development, have appeared in satellite images, with missile components even visible in some cases.
“China is positioning itself as a global superpower. We are in the early stages of a new arms race,” said William Alberque, senior researcher at the Pacific Forum and former director of arms control at NATO, quoted by CNN.
Since coming to power in 2012, Chinese President Xi Jinping has invested billions of euros in the purchase and modernization of military equipment, with the aim of quickly transforming the country’s Armed Forces, known as the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), into a “world-class” fighting force.
China’s missile production infrastructures supply almost all branches of its Armed Forces, which are the largest in the world, with more than two million active military personnel.
Beijing’s growing conventional and nuclear arsenal has led to signs of growing tension between the United States and China, although it was the trade war that dominated the recent meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.
In preparation for talks with the Chinese president, Trump instructed the Pentagon to resume nuclear tests on “the same basis” as China and Russia, kicking off a major change in what has been US policy for several decades.
China and Russia have not carried out nuclear tests with explosives for more than 25 years, but the United States has closely monitored the development of weapons capable of carrying nuclear warheads by both countries.
Beijing is expanding its nuclear arsenal faster than any other nation, increasing it by around 100 new warheads annually since 2023, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) revealed in June. However, it still falls far short of the capabilities of the United States and Russia, which together represent 90% of the world’s arsenal, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists.
One of the reasons for this investment is a potential conflict with Taiwan and possible meddling in it by the United States.
This capacity growth contrasts with the supply problems facing the United States.
In December last year, the Pentagon estimated that China’s rocket force had increased its missile supply by 50% in the previous four years, but data seen by CNN suggests that Chinese efforts have continued unabated.
Earlier this year, China approved a 7.2% increase in its defense budget, bringing total spending to approximately $245 billion (around €212 billion). This is the fourth consecutive year of more than 7% growth in military spending, although many experts believe China’s actual investment is likely much higher than the official figure.