China is building up its nuclear weapons arsenal faster than previous projections, a US report says

By TARA COPP and LOLITA C. BALDOR
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Pentagon report on China’s military power says Beijing is on track to significantly increase its nuclear weapons arsenal by 2030 and is “almost certainly” learning lessons from Russia’s war in Ukraine about what a conflict over Taiwan might look like. The annual report from the Defense Department also warns that China may be pursuing a new intercontinental missile system using conventional arms that, if it were fielded, would allow Beijing to threaten conventional strikes against targets in the continental United States as well as Hawaii and Alaska. The report comes as the latest Israel-Hamas war has forced the U.S. military to prioritize the Middle East, instead of pivoting to the Pacific.