China Builds Up, Improves Nuclear Capabilities as Chinese President Xi Jinping Drives Military Expansion

To compete with Washington over Taiwan, China is stepping up its nuclear arsenal as part of a military modernization campaign.

Given the growing rivalry between China and the United States on the international stage, Xi Jinping is reportedly pressing the Chinese military to establish bases in southeast Asia and Africa.

China's Military Modernization

The recent pushback against lockdowns in China, according to Defense Intelligence Analyst Paul Monk, may mark a major turning point for the government of Xi Jinping. The protests are thought to have started after a lockdown policy reportedly caused emergency services to be delayed, which led to several individuals losing their lives in an apartment building fire in Urumqi.

riot police in biohazard suits were seen hauling protesters out of the demonstration in video from the front lines of the Guangzhou riots. The enraged protesters attacked the cops with missiles and bottles.

On Wednesday, hundreds of SUVs, vans, and armored vehicles with flashing lights were parked along city streets as police and paramilitary forces carried out random ID checks and searched people's smartphones for photos, blocked apps, or other potential proof that they had taken part in the demonstrations.

It is unknown how many individuals were detained during the protests and subsequent police operations, as per Express. Construction on Linglong One, a pressurized-water, a compact modular nuclear reactor with several uses, has started in the Hainan Province in South China, according to a Sunday report by China Central Television.

The China National Nuclear Corporation is constructing Linglong One using independent Chinese research and its intellectual property. It was recognized as the first reactor of its kind in the world by the International Atomic Energy Agency on the basis that it was built to satisfy the region's various energy needs.

The nuclear island known as Linglong One is referred to as the center of the nuclear power plant. The report stated that further significant infrastructure, such as the power plant's pressure vessel and steam generator, will be erected in the future.

The Linlong One project, which will start development in July 2021, is praised for its high level of security, rapid construction, and adaptable deployment, among other benefits. The construction is anticipated to be finished in 58 months.

The reactor could be utilized to provide distributed energy as well as other needs like industrial heating, regional heating, seawater desalination, and other things. One billion kilowatt-hours of electricity may be produced by each Linglong One set, which has a power capacity of 125,000 kilowatts.

The Linglong One is an illustration of China's increased investment in energy projects, not only because the nation is stepping up efforts to ensure energy supply in the event of a power outage, but also because China is actively promoting the switch to low-carbon and environmentally friendly energy sources, according to Global Times.

US Debuts Nuclear Bomber Amid Rising Tensions With China

Meanwhile, the Pentagon's response to growing worries about a potential clash with China includes the public unveiling of America's newest nuclear stealth bomber, which has been under construction in secret for years.

The nation's first all-new bomber in more than 30 years is the B-21 Raider. Almost every aspect of the program has been classified. Before the warplane's unveiling on Friday at an Air Force base in Palmdale, California, only artistic renderings of the aircraft had been made available to the public.

The Pentagon is seeking to modernize all three of its nuclear triad's components, which also includes silo-launched nuclear ballistic missiles and submarine-launched bombs, to compete with China's quick military modernization.

China is on track to have 1,500 nuclear weapons by 2035, according to the Pentagon's annual report on the country, and its advancements in hypersonic technology, cyber warfare, space capabilities, and other areas pose the most significant and systemic threat to US national security as well as the free and open international system.

The Air Force is building 100 B-21 Raiders, which can carry a crew or operate autonomously and can carry nuclear or conventional bombs. There are already six of these aircraft under construction.

The Raider's very speedy development is another selling point for Northrop and the Air Force. It only took seven years from the contract award to the first flight of the bomber. It took decades to complete other new fighter and ship programs, SCMP reported.