Why is China Suddenly Expanding its Nuclear Arsenal?
China first tested a nuclear weapon in 1964. And since then, Chinese authorites have been content with a relatively small nuclear arsenal. That was, until very recently. There is now mounting evidence that China is substantially expanding its nuclear capabilities. In this episode, we speak with Tong Zhao, Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a Visiting Researcher at Princeton University's Program on Science and Global Security, to explain what is driving Chinese nuclear strategy. We kick off with a brief history of China's nuclear weapons program before having an in depth discussion about the intentions and motivations behind China's expanding nuclear arsenal. We also discuss what steps China's main rival, the United States, could take to assuage at least some of the concerns driving Chinese nuclear strategy.