Space Industry and Business News

China rejects US claims of secret nuclear tests

China rejects US claims of secret nuclear tests

by AFP Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) Feb 9, 2026
China on Monday denied US allegations it had conducted secret nuclear explosive tests, calling them "outright lies" and accusing Washington of making excuses to start up its own trials.

At the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva on Friday, Thomas DiNanno, US under secretary of state for arms control accused China of conducting the tests, including one on 22 June 2020, and of preparing for more tests with massive yields.

"The US allegations are completely groundless and are outright lies. China firmly opposes the US attempt to fabricate excuses for its own restarting of nuclear tests," China's ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement to AFP on Monday.

It also urged the United States to "immediately stop its irresponsible actions".

US President Donald Trump said in October that Washington would start testing nuclear weapons "on an equal basis" with Moscow and Beijing, but without elaborating or explaining what kind of nuclear testing he wanted to resume.

DiNanno's comments came as he was presenting a new US plan calling for three-way talks with Russia and China to set new limits on nuclear weapons, after the expiration of New START -- the last treaty between top nuclear powers Washington and Moscow, which expired last Thursday.

China has already rejected joining disarmament negotiations "at this stage".

Related Links
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com
Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com
All about missiles at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters

RELATED CONTENT

The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.

New START nuclear treaty 'was flawed': senior US official
Geneva (AFP) Feb 6, 2026
A senior US official on Friday criticised the last nuclear treaty between Russia and the United States for failing to include Beijing, speaking at the United Nations a day after the New START deal expired. "In a nutshell, New START was flawed," said Thomas G. DiNanno, US Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, pointing out that it had not covered all nuclear weapons, "and it didn't include China". Speaking to reporters in Geneva before addressing the Conference on D ... read more

ESA adjusts Cluster orbits for rare twin reentry campaign

Astroscale Japan to mature electric refueling for future GEO servicing

Terran Orbital to supply Nebula satellite platform for Mitsubishi Electric LEO mission

Momentus and NASA plan joint mission to test orbital servicing technologies

Balerion backs Northwood to tackle ground bottlenecks in expanding space economy

Aalyria spacetime platform tapped for AFRL space data network trials

W5 Technologies LEO payload extends MUOS coverage into polar and remote theaters

Eutelsat orders 340 new OneWeb LEO satellites from Airbus

Britain Launches Secure Satellite Timing System to Guard Critical Services

China rolls out BeiDou satellite messaging for emergency use

SES to extend EGNOS GEO 1 payload service for precise navigation over Europe through 2030

Lockheed Martin launches ninth GPS III satellite to boost secure navigation

German union urges homegrown fighter jet in blow to European plan

AI search tool helps design next generation hydrogen jet engine

Airline sector falling behind on clean fuel switch: IATA

Indonesia receives first batch of French-made Rafale jets

Single molecule devices push past silicon limits

Taiwan says 'impossible' to move 40 percent chip capacity to US

US contract vehicle to speed US made defense semiconductors into military systems

US lawmakers say Nvidia AI tech 'powering China's military'

Airbus and Hisdesat extend deal to market next generation PAZ-2 radar imagery

When Earth's magnetic field took its time flipping

Satellite study revises methane loss high in Earth atmosphere

New axis grid links complex earth data in space and time

Chile's climate summit chief to lead plastic pollution treaty talks

UK unveils first plan to tackle 'forever chemicals'

Pakistan's capital picks concrete over trees, angering residents

Study links bottled water to higher nanoplastic levels than tap

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2026 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.