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US sends complex signals on nuclear tests, strokes concerns

Global Times

By Deng Xiaoci Published: Nov 03, 2025 11:30 PM

The US administration has been sending complex messages over resuming nuclear weapon tests recently, with US President Donald Trump claiming again he would like to test nuclear weapons in an interview with CBS News television aired on Sunday, while Energy Secretary stating the nuclear weapons testing ordered by Trump will not involve nuclear explosions.

Chinese observers warned on Monday that the US administration's push to resume US nuclear weapon tests, if conducted, could shatter the three-decade global moratorium, triggering a renewed arms race, a surge in warhead numbers and performance, and heightened nuclear risks.

They urged US to honor its commitment to a moratorium on nuclear testing, and take concrete actions to uphold the international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime.

Complex messages

The US president first took to social media Truth Social on October 30 to say that he had "instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis."

The comments on Truth Social last week were interpreted by many as a sign the US was preparing to restart full-scale nuclear blasts for the first time since 1992, BBC reported.

Trump was coy on whether he really meant to say he was ordering the resumption of explosive testing of nuclear weapons, or calling for the testing of US systems that could deliver a nuclear weapon, which is far more routine, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

The AP report also stated that Trump remained opaque on Friday when asked by reporters about whether he intended to resume underground nuclear detonation tests. "You'll find out very soon," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday, as he headed to Florida for a weekend stay, said the report.

In an interview with CBS News television which was recorded on Friday and aired on the US local time on Sunday, US President Donald Trump reiterated his position that he would like to test nuclear weapons.

However, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright has stated on local time on Sunday that new tests of the US nuclear weapons system ordered up by President Donald Trump will not include nuclear explosions, the AP reported.

"I think the tests we're talking about right now are system tests," Wright said in an interview on Fox News' Sunday Briefing. "These are not nuclear explosions. These are what we call noncritical explosions."

Wright, whose agency is responsible for testing, claimed that the planned testing involves "all the other parts of a nuclear weapon to make sure they deliver the appropriate geometry and they set up the nuclear explosion," according to the report.

Frenzy of speculation triggered

According to the AP, the US military regularly tests its missiles that are capable of delivering a nuclear warhead, but it has not detonated the weapons since 1992. The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), which the US signed but did not ratify, has been observed since its adoption by all countries possessing nuclear weapons.

Yet, when asked by Norah O'Donnell with CBS News 60 minutes that "are you saying that after more than 30 years, the US is going to start detonating nuclear weapons for testing," Trump replied: "I'm saying that we're going to test nuclear weapons like other countries do, yes."

During the interview, Trump claimed that Russia and China are testing nuclear weapons, "but they don't talk about it." However, CBS News in the interview pointed out that this week the president's own nominee to lead STRATCOM - the admiral who would be in charge of nuclear weapons - was asked about this very issue on Capitol Hill. He said neither China nor Russia were conducting nuclear explosive tests.

When asked to comment on the claim made by the US President Donald Trump that China conducts secret nuclear weapons tests, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Monday that as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a responsible nuclear-weapon state, China is committed to peaceful development, follows a policy of "no first use" of nuclear weapons and a nuclear strategy that focuses on self-defense, and adheres to its nuclear testing moratorium.

We stand ready to work with all parties to jointly uphold the authority of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty and safeguard the international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime, Mao added.

It's hoped that the US will earnestly abide by its obligations under the Treaty and its commitment to a moratorium on nuclear testing, and take concrete actions to uphold the international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime, as well as global strategic balance and stability, Mao noted.  

The Kremlin has not received any notification from Washington regarding plans to resume nuclear weapons testing, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, Russia's TASS News Agency reported on October 30.

While some US media suggested that the US president's decision was made after Russia announced it had tested a new atomic-powered and nuclear-capable underwater drone and a new nuclear-powered cruise missile, Russia on Thursday denied it had carried out nuclear tests, per the BBC.

"Regarding the tests of Poseidon and Burevestnik, we hope that the information was conveyed correctly to President Trump," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists. "This cannot in any way be interpreted as a nuclear test."

The Kremlin spokesperson also warned that "if someone departs from the moratorium, Russia will act accordingly."

The New York Times argued that Moscow has not conducted a test in 35 years, in the last days of the Soviet Union. Trump, however, may have been confusing nuclear weapons tests with Russia's recent declaration.

Potential consequences, concerns

Details for such tests may be still under further discussion between the president and his staff to confirm, said Lü Xiang, research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, explaining the mixed voices coming from the US administration.

Lü told the Global Times that once the 3-decade-long nuclear weapon ban as agreed and observed by major powers worldwide is broken by the US, there would be serious consequences.

The consequences will likely include but not limited to the re-ignition of global nuclear arms races, Song Zhongping, a military affairs expert, told the Global Times on Monday.

An increase in nuclear explosion tests means an increase in the number of nuclear warheads. Improvements in the performance of nuclear warheads will also fill the world with more risks. Therefore, from the perspective of China and Russia, there is no resumption of nuclear testing. The US must tread carefully over the matter, or it will make the risk of nuclear war faced by humanity increasingly severe, he explained.

Chinese observers urged the US to honor its commitment to a moratorium on nuclear testing, safeguard the international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation system and maintain global strategic stability.