Rising Tensions as China Signals Hydrogen Bomb Capability

China has issued a stark warning about the possible use of hydrogen bombs in a future conflict. This threat reportedly comes from a prominent Beijing-based think tank, where a senior official suggested that even former US President Donald Trump could be confronted with such devastating force.

China has long claimed that it possesses hydrogen bombs far more powerful than conventional nuclear weapons—up to ten times more destructive. According to Chinese statements, these weapons were successfully tested as early as the 1960s, though the concept of hydrogen bombs first emerged in the 1950s.

After the United States used atomic bombs to force Japan’s surrender during World War II, global powers such as the Soviet Union and China began searching for even more formidable weapons. This led to the development of thermonuclear, or hydrogen, bombs. The US conducted the world’s first hydrogen bomb test in 1952 at the Marshall Islands. The Soviet Union followed in 1953 in central Siberia, Britain in 1957 near Christmas Island, China in 1967 in the Xinjiang region, and France in 1968 over the South Pacific.

In recent years, Donald Trump has openly expressed suspicion that North Korea may have developed a hydrogen bomb with assistance from China or Russia. While experts often dismiss these claims as American propaganda, there is little doubt about China’s advanced capabilities in this area.

A hydrogen bomb, also known as a thermonuclear weapon, derives its immense power from elements like deuterium and tritium and operates in multiple stages. Despite being relatively compact, it causes destruction on a massive scale—far exceeding that of traditional nuclear bombs.

The United States also possesses hydrogen bombs. However, given Trump’s aggressive posture toward military conflict, he is undoubtedly aware of the catastrophic consequences such weapons could unleash on the world.