event

Miniaturization and Modernization: The Untold Story of China’s Nuclear Weapons

Tue. December 9th, 202510:00 AM - 11:30 AM (EST)
In Person and Live Online

At a time when the U.S.-China relationship is deteriorating, strategic stability between the two nations is also eroding, raising the risk of an arms race and even a nuclear war. Of particular concern to the United States is China’s ongoing nuclear modernization and the significant buildup of its nuclear arsenal. However, little is known publicly about the details of China’s nuclear weapons programs, especially its nuclear warheads.  

How did China develop and test its warheads? How small and light are they? What are the strategic implications of warhead miniaturization? What are the policy implications of the on-going and future expansion of China's nuclear arsenal?  

Join Dr. Hui Zhang, senior research associate at the Project on Managing the Atom at Harvard University, in conversation with Tong Zhao, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment, to discuss Dr. Zhang’s new book, The Untold Story of China’s Nuclear Weapon Development and Testing (MIT, 2025). 

Nuclear PolicyChina
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
event speakers

Hui Zhang

Senior Research Associate, Harvard University

Hui Zhang is a senior research associate at the Project on Managing the Atom in the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Tong Zhao

Senior Fellow with the Nuclear Policy Program and Carnegie China

Tong Zhao is a senior fellow with the Nuclear Policy Program and Carnegie China, Carnegie’s East Asia-based research center on contemporary China. Formerly based in Beijing, he now conducts research in Washington on strategic security issues.