The Conversation
February 7, 2017
By James Samuel Johnson
There has long been a gap between China’s nuclear weapons capabilities and the aspirations of its defence strategists, some of whom are keen to align Beijing’s nuclear posture with the offensive, dominant stance of its conventional military forces. They may be getting their way: there are signs that China could start to move towards a “war-fighting” nuclear stance and dramatically change the way it uses its nuclear weapons for strategic purposes.