After President Trump told the Pentagon to resume nuclear weapons testing, China urged Washington to “earnestly abide” by the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Global leaders warn the move risks reversing decades of non-proliferation norms.
Trump Nuclear Testing Order Sparks Global Alarm
President Donald Trump announced via social media that he has instructed the Pentagon to begin testing U.S. nuclear weapons “immediately,” a dramatic policy shift that would mark the first American explosive test since 1992 and risks reopening fissures in the post-Cold War non-proliferation order. The announcement came hours before a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and has prompted immediate international concern.
China’s foreign ministry responded by urging the United States to “earnestly abide” by the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), noting that testing would undermine global strategic stability and the authority of arms-control norms. Beijing stressed that it has honoured its own moratorium and pushed for restraint and dialogue rather than escalation.
Reaction from other capitals and analysts was swift: diplomats warned the move could spark a new arms-race dynamic, complicate diplomacy on crises from Ukraine to the Indo-Pacific, and prompt legal and political challenges in Washington. Experts say the practicalities — test site choice, technical preparations and congressional oversight.
