Washington's fear-mongering concerning China's nuclear arsenal is completely baseless, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Wednesday, following a The New York Times report of US President Joe Biden updating the Nuclear Employment Guidance to refocus its aim against the Asian country.

“The US has called China a ‘nuclear threat’ and used it as a convenient pretext for the US to shirk its obligation of nuclear disarmament,” she told journalists, expressing that Beijing was "gravely concerned" with the recently published report. 

The diplomat emphasized that China's nuclear arsenal was “by no means on the same level with the US,” highlighting Beijing's "no first use" policy and the country's objective to maintain "its nuclear capabilities at the minimum level required by national security."

China has “no intention to engage in any form of arms race” with other countries, Mao stated, adding, “It is the US who is the primary source of nuclear threats and strategic risks in the world."

Back in 2023, the Pentagon estimated that China would double its operational nuclear warhead stockpile to more than 1,000 by 2030. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the US currently has 5,550 warheads while Russia has 6,255.

The White House has undermined China’s concerns about the nuclear strategy change, which its spokesperson Sean Savett described the shift as a standard update that was “not a response to any single entity, country, nor threat.”

However, despite the White House's claims, US officials have frequently labeled Beijing as “a challenge” to world peace, accusing it of economic and military coercion in the Indo-Pacific region. In response, Beijing has attributed the ongoing tensions to the US, urging Washington to renounce its “Cold War mentality.”

Biden's new nuclear strategy targets 'China threat', Beijing responds

President Biden has endorsed a revised US nuclear strategy aimed at addressing what the US perceives as potential coordinated nuclear threats from Russia, China, and DPRK, according to The New York Times report on Tuesday.

Simultaneously, the White House claimed that the strategy, approved earlier this year, is not directed at any single nation or threat.

White House spokesperson Sean Savett stated that while the specific details of the guidance are classified, its existence is public knowledge.

The updated strategy reflects US concerns about what it perceives as China’s rapid expansion of its nuclear arsenal, which is projected to rival US and Russian stockpiles within the next decade according to NYT.

Despite these developments, the Arms Control Association maintains that the US nuclear strategy remains aligned with the 2022 Nuclear Posture Review, with no shift in focus from Russia to China.