List of nuclear weapons tests of China in the context of "Nuclear weapons of China"

China was the fifth country to develop and test nuclear weapons. China's tested its first nuclear weapon in 1964 and its first full-scale thermonuclear weapon in 1967. It is one of the five nuclear-weapon states recognized by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), to which it acceded in 1992. It carried out 45 nuclear tests before signing the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty in 1996.

The Federation of American Scientists and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimate China's stockpile at approximately 600 nuclear warheads as of 2025, making it the third-largest in the world. It is the only NPT nuclear-weapon state significantly expanding its arsenal, which has doubled since 2019, and is projected to reach between 750 and 1,500 warheads by 2035, although it has not restarted fissile material production. Unlike the US and Russia, nearly all Chinese warheads are believed to be in central storage, separate from their delivery system.

The People's Republic of China has possessed nuclear weapons since the 1960s. It was the last to develop them of the five nuclear-weapon states recognized by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). China acceded to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) in 1984, acceded to the NPT in 1992, and ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in 1997.

China tested its first nuclear bomb in 1964 and its first full-scale thermonuclear bomb in 1967. It carried out 45 nuclear tests before signing the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty in 1996.

639 was the codename for China's first full-scale test of a two-staged thermonuclear device, on 17 June 1967, yielding 3.3 megatons of TNT. It followed the first two-stage thermonuclear test, at a smaller 122 kt yield, in December 1966. It was the sixth nuclear test that was carried out by the People's Republic of China, and represented the completion of the "second bomb" i.e. thermonuclear bomb component of the "Two Bombs, One Satellite" program. With these two tests, China became the fourth nation to develop thermonuclear weapons, following the US, USSR, and UK. Taking place 32 months after the first Chinese nuclear test, Project 596, it remains the fastest progression from nuclear to full thermonuclear test of any country.