The administration of Chinese President Xi Jinping is facing calls in China to rethink its “no first use” policy for nuclear weapons, a pledge not to use nuclear weapons unless attacked with such arms. Discussions on nuclear weapons are becoming more multifaceted within the Xi administration, which is crafting a nuclear strategy to counter the United States. With Russia ramping up nuclear threats amid its invasion of Ukraine, there are growing calls for China to review its no first use policy, as part of efforts to deter other nations from getting involved in an emergency situation involving Taiwan. According to Chinese government sources, a report issued in the latter half of 2022 by China’s National Defense University warned that it “would be necessary to amend” the no first use policy for nuclear weapons if doing so “would have the effect of preventing” the United States and other nations “from intervening in the event of a Taiwan emergency.”
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