Beijing, November 3, 2025 – In a pointed diplomatic rebuke, China's Foreign Ministry on Monday called on the United States to maintain its longstanding moratorium on nuclear explosive testing, directly responding to President Donald Trump's recent order for the Pentagon to prepare for a resumption of such activities. The appeal comes amid escalating rhetoric over global nuclear arsenals, with Trump alleging secret tests by rival powers and vowing to match them "on an equal basis."
Speaking at a routine press briefing in Beijing, spokeswoman Mao Ning emphasized China's commitment to restraint and peace. "We hope the United States will uphold the moratorium on nuclear testing and uphold the global strategic balance," Mao said. "We hope [the U.S.] may take concrete action to uphold the international disarmament and non-proliferation regime." She reiterated Beijing's longstanding policies: "China always embarks on a journey of peaceful development. We uphold the principle of not using nuclear weapons first and using nuclear weapons only for defense."
Mao's remarks directly addressed Trump's claims, made during a "60 Minutes" interview aired Sunday, that "Russia is testing, and China is testing, but they don't talk about it." The president accused multiple nations, including North Korea and Pakistan, of conducting covert underground nuclear explosions. "I don’t want to be the only country that doesn’t test," Trump stated, framing his directive as a necessary response to perceived imbalances.
China flatly denied any violation of the informal global moratorium. "China has always adhered to the path of peaceful development, pursued a policy of no first use of nuclear weapons, upheld a self-defense nuclear strategy, and abided by its commitment to suspend nuclear testing," Mao asserted. She added that Beijing remains "ready to work with all parties to uphold the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and safeguard the international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime."
The exchange marks the latest flashpoint in U.S.-China strategic tensions, heightened by Trump's October 29 social media post from Marine One en route to a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea. "Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis," Trump wrote. "That process will begin immediately."
Trump's order, issued just minutes before his meeting with Xi, stunned observers and drew immediate international scrutiny. It would end a 33-year U.S. hiatus on explosive nuclear tests, the last occurring on September 23, 1992, under President George H.W. Bush, who declared the moratorium that year. Since then, the U.S. has relied on advanced computer simulations, subcritical experiments, and stockpile stewardship programs managed by the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to certify its arsenal's reliability without detonations.
Experts widely agree that neither China nor Russia has conducted confirmed nuclear explosive tests in decades. China's final test was in 1996 at Lop Nur, and Russia's (as the Soviet Union's successor) last was in 1990. The only nation to breach the norm recently is North Korea, with its 2017 hydrogen bomb detonation. Trump may have misconstrued Russia's recent trials of nuclear-capable delivery systems—like the Burevestnik cruise missile and Poseidon torpedo—as full explosive tests, though these involved no nuclear yields.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright clarified on Sunday that any renewed American testing would not involve nuclear explosions. "The nuclear testing ordered by President Trump will not involve nuclear explosions," Wright told Fox News. "These are not nuclear explosions... [but] the other parts of a nuclear weapon" to ensure functionality. This distinction aligns with ongoing U.S. practices, such as hydrodynamic and subcritical tests at the Nevada National Security Site.
Resuming full explosive tests, however, faces formidable barriers. A Congressional Research Service report estimates 24-36 months for preparation, requiring congressional funding, site upgrades, and environmental reviews. The Nevada site, dormant for detonations since 1992, would need hundreds of millions in investments. Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, called Trump's directive "reckless," warning it could spark a new arms race. "It would take the U.S. [18-36 months] to resume nuclear explosive testing... [and] most certainly encourage countries like Russia, China, India, and Pakistan to resume their own tests."
Globally, the CTBT—adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1996—bans all nuclear explosions. While signed by 187 nations and ratified by 178, it awaits entry into force pending ratification by eight holdouts, including the U.S. and China. Both observe the moratorium de facto, but Trump's move threatens this norm. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated Russia would "act accordingly" if the U.S. resumes testing but denied current violations.
Trump's allegations lack public evidence from seismic monitoring networks like the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), which detect even minuscule events. Hans Kristensen of the Federation of American Scientists noted, "Neither China nor Russia has conducted a nuclear explosive test." Satellite imagery shows activity at test sites in all three nations—new tunnels in China's Lop Nur, Russia's Novaya Zemlya, and U.S. Nevada—but experts attribute this to maintenance or non-explosive experiments.
The backdrop is a tripling of great-power nuclear modernization. The U.S. is upgrading its triad under a $1.7 trillion program through 2040. Russia fields novel systems amid its Ukraine war. China, with ~600 warheads (up from 410 in 2020), aims for 1,000 by 2030, per Pentagon estimates, via new silos and mobile launchers. Yet arms control stalls: The New START treaty expires in 2026 without renewal talks.
Domestically, Trump's order sparked backlash. Nevada Democrats, recalling fallout from 928 prior tests (1945-1992), vowed opposition. Senator Jacky Rosen warned of poisoning communities and igniting "a chain of events [leading] to World War III." Allies like Japan and South Korea expressed alarm over regional instability.
At the Busan summit, Trump and Xi discussed trade but not nukes publicly. Trump later told reporters his order targeted "others... seem to all be nuclear testing," insisting on parity.
Analysts see Trump's rhetoric as leverage in broader competitions, echoing his first-term flirtations with resumption (abandoned in 2020). Jeffrey Lewis of the Middlebury Institute warned: "The mere suggestion... could give the green light to China to resume explosive testing," benefiting Beijing more due to its limited historical data (45 tests vs. U.S. 1,030).
As of November 3, the Pentagon has not detailed implementation, deferring to the Energy Department. NNSA Administrator Brandon Williams testified in April: No technical need exists for explosive tests; the stockpile remains "safe, secure, and effective."
Mao closed by urging U.S. responsibility: "Earnestly abide by... the moratorium... and take concrete actions to uphold global strategic balance and stability." With no explosive tests detected worldwide since 2017, the world watches whether Trump's words escalate to action—or remain bluster in a fragile nuclear order.
