Satellite images reveal new tunnels at China’s main nuclear testing ground

China is expanding infrastructure at the Lop Nur nuclear test site in Xinjiang, the location where it carried out its first atomic bomb test in 1964.

Satellite imagery shows that new tunnels, test shafts, blast chambers, and supporting facilities are under construction, suggesting possible preparations for nuclear tests, as per foreign media reports.

Experts point out that China’s current arsenal of approximately 600 warheads is significantly smaller than the United States’ 3,700 warheads, which is driving Beijing to intensify testing and research activities. Since 2020, new wells have been drilled, additional buildings erected, and equipment movement has increased at the site. The Pentagon has repeatedly criticised the lack of transparency in China’s nuclear program.

The expansion is part of President Xi Jinping’s strategy to modernise the Chinese military by 2030. Beijing is developing lower-yield nuclear warheads and seeking to strengthen regional deterrence.

Although Donald Trump has warned that China could reach parity with the U.S. in warhead numbers within five years, experts consider this scenario unlikely.

Explosive nuclear testing is banned under the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which China has signed but not ratified. The United States has raised concerns about possible covert tests, but Beijing denies the allegations and stresses its official “no first use” policy for nuclear weapons.

By Tamilla Hasanova