China seeking nuclear bomber to compete with US

Bloomberg

China is likely developing a long-range bomber capable of delivering nuclear weapons and a space-based early warning system it could use to more quickly respond to an attack, according to a new report from the US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).
The development of the bomber, when combined with China’s land-based nuclear weapons programme and a deployed submarine with intercontinental ballistic missile technology, would give Beijing a “triad” of nuclear delivery systems similar to the US and Russia, according to the report.
“China is building a robust, lethal force with capabilities spanning the air, maritime, space and information domains which will enable China to impose its will in the region,” the report’s author, Lieutenant General Robert Ashley, said.
Some of the report’s assertions are “extremely unprofessional” and “absurd”, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters at a regular briefing, without specifying which aspects of the report she was referring to.
“The report disregards facts and is full of a Cold War and zero-sum mentality. The report speculates on China’s path, strategic intention and defense building,” Hua said. “We hope the US military can view China’s growing military rationally and objectively and maintain the overall situation of military and bilateral relations.”
The report comes as President Donald Trump’s administration focusses on the potential for “great power” conflict with countries like China and Russia as part of its national defense strategy. It also comes amid heightened trade tensions between Washington and Beijing, and continuing disputes about China’s posture in the South China Sea.
Beijing’s development of a nuclear-capable bomber would provide China with “its first credible nuclear triad of delivery systems dispersed across land, sea, and air — a posture considered since the Cold War to improve survivability and strategic deterrence,” according to the report.
Even without the bomber, China is progressing on its new Jin-class nuclear submarines which, armed with JL-2 ICBMs, are “poised to contribute to China’s nuclear deterrent once they begin strategic patrols in the near future,” DIA said.
The DIA assessment released underscores that China maintains a “no first-use” nuclear policy but adds that there is “some ambiguity, however, over the conditions under which China’s NFU policy would apply.” Despite a slew of disputes over Taiwan, the South China Sea and global trade, the review also says there is no indication in Chinese military strategic documents that Beijing views war with the US as looming.
Moreover, while China’s defense spending climbed an average of 10 percent per year from 2000 to 2016, total spending remains “significantly below” the US, the report said. Spending was about 1.3 percent of gross domestic product from 2014-2018, compared to more than 3 percent of GDP for the US over the same period.