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This series features brief discussions with leading China experts on a range of issues in the U.S.-China relationship, including domestic politics, foreign policy, economics, security, culture, the environment, and areas of global concern. For more interviews, videos, and links to events, visit our website: www.ncuscr.org.

The National Committee on U.S.-China Relations is the leading nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that encourages understanding of China and the United States among citizens of both countries.

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  2. U.S.-China First Strike Showdown: Rising Nuclear Tensions | M. Taylor Fravel Tong Zhao

U.S.-China First Strike Showdown: Rising Nuclear Tensions | M. Taylor Fravel Tong Zhao

Dec 15, 2021

Not since China's detonation of its first atomic weapon in 1964 has the United States been so concerned with the country's nuclear capabilities. Recent satellite images suggest China is constructing 100 new ICBM silos, and the Pentagon estimates that China could possess well over 1,000 nuclear warheads by the end of the decade. In addition, the successful test of a cutting-edge, nuclear-capable hypersonic missile last month has rattled the U.S. security community.

Why is China rapidly bulking up its nuclear arsenal, and why now? What does this spell for an already fraught U.S.-China security relationship? And how should the United States respond in its efforts to maintain "strategic stability”?

On December 13, 2021, the National Committee interviewed M. Taylor Fravel and Tong Zhao to discuss these questions and more on China's expanding nuclear capabilities.