China's growing nuclear arsenal 'concerning' - U.S.

The build up had become more difficult for China to hide and it appeared it was deviating from decades of nuclear strategy based around minimal deterrence, State Department spokesperson Ned Price told a regular news briefing.

Price was responding to a question about a report in the Washington Post that said China had begun constructing more than 100 new missile silos in a desert area in the western part of the country.

Price added that this was why President Joe Biden had prioritized strategic stability in his engagement with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and added: "The same rationale would apply to engagement with another nuclear power, the PRC."