The Pentagon has flagged a potential new arms race sparked by Russia delivering nuclear fuel to China. Bloomberg reports this, citing sources within the US Department of Defense.
Agency sources say that from September through December 2022, Russia moved 25,000 kilograms of enriched uranium to China, a level that immediately raises security and proliferation concerns.
Reports indicate that Russia has transferred more enriched uranium to China for the CFR-600 reactor than what the United States and the International Atomic Energy Agency have documented worldwide in the past three decades.
According to the Pentagon, the CFR-600 is slated to begin producing weapons-grade plutonium in 2023. If realized, this development could alter the balance of nuclear capabilities among China, Russia, and the United States.
The US Department of Defense also concluded that Russia’s withdrawal from the Strategic Offensive Weapons Treaty with the United States is linked to the expanding nuclear potential of China.
Since 2017, China has not disclosed its plutonium stockpiles to the IAEA. Bloomberg notes that on December 12, 2022, Rosatom supplied 6,477 kilograms of enriched uranium to China.
Last November, CNNC, a Chinese nuclear company, finalized eight deals with Rosatom and other partners for a total of 572 million dollars during the China International Import Expo in Shanghai.