In a remote desert in the northwestern region of Xinjiang, China is building a large military complex for the country’s nuclear weapons program. Its existence was already known, but its size and what it can be used for have been mapped out for the first time, according to the Reuters news agency.

It concerns an area of ​​hundreds of square meters kilometers in size, can be seen on satellite images analyzed by Reuters. A network of bases has been set up between the nuclear missile launch silos.

Tim Sweijs of The Hague Center for Strategic Study (HCSS) sees that the complex fits in with China’s commitment to modernize and expand its nuclear arsenal. The country wants to become equal to nuclear powers such as Russia and the US, according to estimates both around 5000(opens in new window) have nuclear warheads. China has about 600.

There are a total of more than eighty launch platforms for (nuclear) missiles and anti-aircraft systems in the vicinity of the Hami nuclear missile complex. The launch pads are located near isolated nuclear silos where China’s most important nuclear missiles are stored.

Close to the launch platforms are buildings where large military vehicles can be stored and where Chinese defense employees can stay. There are also weapons depots, bunkers and airfields and a railway network. There were exercises with large military aircraft in May and April, Reuters saw.

China has said for years that it will never be the first to deploy a nuclear weapon. “It’s about deterrence, the ability to attack if you are attacked yourself,” Sico van der Meer of the Clingendael Institute explains this strategy.

According to both experts, this complex fits a so-called the ability to hit back when attacked. China is making it more difficult to eliminate all nuclear facilities at once by focusing on the spread of these types of silos and nuclear weapons on board submarines, for example.

“It concerns an area of ​​hundreds of square kilometers, so if a country like the US wants to hit China’s ability to fire missiles, they have to destroy a gigantic area,” says Sweijs. Van der Meer also sees that. “The silos are spread over an area where you cannot blow up all the storage sites with one nuclear bomb.”

Sweijs states that China wants to increase the threshold for a surprise attack. “China thinks it has made great strides to have a chance against countries like the US, but also against countries in the region.”

In February, China said it would not participate in any talks on a new nuclear weapons treaty, which was then set to expire. “Beijing does not want to be blackmailed or attacked and wants to be sure that it is not vulnerable,” says Sweijs. In doing so, China also creates freedom of movement to launch an invasion of Taiwan, without the US nuclear threat hanging over it,” says the HCSS expert.

“There are other problems with the US, such as the South China Sea and Trump’s unpredictability and aggressiveness,” says Van der Meer. “And China does not necessarily see Russia as a good friend. After all, a Putin in a corner can also make crazy leaps.”