Matt Corda is a senior research fellow for the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists. For decades, China maintained this relatively small nuclear arsenal of only a couple hundred warheads. The Pentagon projected that China could potentially have as many as 700 more heads by 2027 and as many as 1,000 by 2030.
For decades, a delicate strategy of deterrence kept Russia and the US from nuclear war. With China upping its nuclear ambitions, things are about to get a lot more complicated.
This episode was produced by Amanda Lewellyn, edited by Matt Collette, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Michael Raphael, and hosted by Noel King.
Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained
Support Today, Explained by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices