Project 596 - Revision history

120.18.96.60: /* Japan */Better context

2023-07-03T23:44:23Z

Japan: Better context

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:14, 4 July 2023
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	'''Project 596''', ('''Miss Qiu''' ({{lang-zh\|邱小姐}}, Qiū Xiǎojiě) as the callsign,<ref>{{cite book \|last=Fravel \|first=Taylor \|author-link=Taylor Fravel \|title=Active Defense: China's Military Strategy Since 1949 \|date=23 April 2019 \|page=254 \|isbn=9780691152134}}</ref> '''Chic-1''' by the US intelligence agencies<ref name="cia1971" />) was the first [[nuclear weapon]]s [[Nuclear testing\|test]] conducted by the [[People's Republic of China]], detonated on 16 October 1964, at the [[Lop Nur]] test site. It was a [[uranium-235]] [[Nuclear weapon design\|implosion fission device]] made from weapons-grade uranium ([[Uranium-235\|U-235]]) enriched in a [[gaseous diffusion]] plant in [[Lanzhou]].<ref name=":0">[https://www.ctbto.org/specials/testing-times/16-october-1964-first-chinese-nuclear-test "16 October 1964 – First Chinese nuclear test: CTBTO Preparatory Commission"]. ''www.ctbto.org''. Retrieved 2017-06-01.</ref>		'''Project 596''', ('''Miss Qiu''' ({{lang-zh\|邱小姐}}, Qiū Xiǎojiě) as the callsign,<ref>{{cite book \|last=Fravel \|first=Taylor \|author-link=Taylor Fravel \|title=Active Defense: China's Military Strategy Since 1949 \|date=23 April 2019 \|page=254 \|isbn=9780691152134}}</ref> '''Chic-1''' by the US intelligence agencies<ref name="cia1971" />) was the first [[nuclear weapon]]s [[Nuclear testing\|test]] conducted by the [[People's Republic of China]], detonated on 16 October 1964, at the [[Lop Nur]] test site. It was a [[uranium-235]] [[Nuclear weapon design\|implosion fission device]] made from weapons-grade uranium ([[Uranium-235\|U-235]]) enriched in a [[gaseous diffusion]] plant in [[Lanzhou]].<ref name=":0">[https://www.ctbto.org/specials/testing-times/16-october-1964-first-chinese-nuclear-test "16 October 1964 – First Chinese nuclear test: CTBTO Preparatory Commission"]. ''www.ctbto.org''. Retrieved 2017-06-01.</ref>

	The atomic bomb was a part of China's "[[Two Bombs, One Satellite]]" program. It had a yield of 22 [[TNT equivalent\|kiloton]]s, comparable to the [[Soviet Union\|Soviet Union's]] first nuclear bomb [[RDS-1]] in 1949 and the American [[Fat Man]] bomb dropped on [[Nagasaki\|Nagasaki, Japan]] in 1945.<ref>Bukharin, Oleg; Podvig, Pavel Leonardovich; Hippel, Frank Von (2004). [https://books.google.be/books?id=CPRVbYDc-7kC&pg=PA441 ''Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces'']. MIT Press. p. 441. {{ISBN\|9780262661812}}.</ref> With the test, China became the [[List of states with nuclear weapons\|fifth nuclear power in the world]] and the first [[Asia\|Asian]] nation to possess nuclear capability. This was the first of [[List of nuclear weapons tests of China\|45 successful nuclear tests]] China conducted between 1964 and 1996, all of which occurred at the Lop Nur test site.<ref name=":1">NORRIS, ROBERT S. (1996-03-01). [[doi:10.1177/0967010696027001006\|"French and Chinese Nuclear Weapon Testing"]]. ''Security Dialogue''. '''27''' (1): 39–54. [[Digital object identifier\|doi]]:[https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0967010696027001006 10.1177/0967010696027001006]. [[International Standard Serial Number\|ISSN]] [https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0967-0106 0967-0106].</ref>		The atomic bomb was a part of China's "[[Two Bombs, One Satellite]]" program. It had a yield of 22 [[TNT equivalent\|kiloton]]s, comparable to the [[Soviet Union\|Soviet Union's]] first nuclear bomb [[RDS-1]] in 1949 and the American [[Fat Man]] bomb dropped on [[Nagasaki\|Nagasaki, Japan]] in 1945.<ref>Bukharin, Oleg; Podvig, Pavel Leonardovich; Hippel, Frank Von (2004). [https://books.google.com/books?id=CPRVbYDc-7kC&pg=PA441 ''Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces'']. MIT Press. p. 441. {{ISBN\|9780262661812}}.</ref> With the test, China became the [[List of states with nuclear weapons\|fifth nuclear power in the world]] and the first [[Asia\|Asian]] nation to possess nuclear capability. This was the first of [[List of nuclear weapons tests of China\|45 successful nuclear tests]] China conducted between 1964 and 1996, all of which occurred at the Lop Nur test site.<ref name=":1">NORRIS, ROBERT S. (1996-03-01). [[doi:10.1177/0967010696027001006\|"French and Chinese Nuclear Weapon Testing"]]. ''Security Dialogue''. '''27''' (1): 39–54. [[Digital object identifier\|doi]]:[https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0967010696027001006 10.1177/0967010696027001006]. [[International Standard Serial Number\|ISSN]] [https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0967-0106 0967-0106].</ref>

	== Development ==		== Development ==
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	=== Design and testing ===		=== Design and testing ===
	The Soviet Union helped with some initial research, design, and production preparations. However, it later withdrew support at the last minute, and China had to rely on itself to complete the bomb.{{Citation needed\|reason=Needs a source, also needs clarification as to what constitutes the "last minute" as well as the phrase "rely on itself". If they had already received support as the preceding sentence intimates, then this is a nebulous (nearly contradictory) statement \|date=December 2021}}		In 1956, the Third Ministry of Machinery Building was established, and nuclear research was conducted at the Institute of Physics and Atomic Energy in Beijing. A [[gaseous diffusion]] uranium enrichment plant was constructed in Lanzhou. In 1957, China and the USSR signed an agreement on sharing defense technology that involved an atomic bomb prototype being supplied by Moscow to Beijing, technical data, and an exchange of hundreds of Russian and Chinese scientists.<ref name=":3">[http://www.nti.org/learn/countries/china/nuclear/ "China \| Nuclear"]. ''Nuclear Threat Initiative''. April 2015. Retrieved June 2, 2017.</ref> A joint search for uranium in China was conducted between the two countries. A location near Lake Lop Nur in [[Xinjiang]] was selected to be the test site with its headquarters at Malan. Construction of the test site began on 1 April 1960, involving tens of thousands of laborers and prisoners under tough conditions.<ref name=":1" /> It took four years to complete. Being the sole site for nuclear testing in China for years to come, the Lop Nur test site underwent extensive expansion and is by far the world's largest nuclear weapons test site, covering around 100,000 square kilometers.<ref>[http://www.nti.org/learn/facilities/710/ "Lop Nor Nuclear Weapons Test Base \| Facilities"]. ''Nuclear Threat Initiative''. Retrieved 2017-06-02.</ref>

	In 1956, the Third Ministry of Machinery Building was established, and nuclear research was conducted at the Institute of Physics and Atomic Energy in Beijing. A [[gaseous diffusion]] uranium enrichment plant was constructed in Lanzhou. In 1957, China and the USSR signed an agreement on sharing defense technology that involved an atomic bomb prototype being supplied by Moscow to Beijing, technical data, and an exchange of hundreds of Russian and Chinese scientists.<ref name=":3">[http://www.nti.org/learn/countries/china/nuclear/ "China \| Nuclear"]. ''Nuclear Threat Initiative''. April 2015. Retrieved June 2, 2017.</ref> A joint search for uranium in China was conducted between the two countries. A location near Lake Lop Nur in [[Xinjiang~~\|Xinjiang Province~~]] was selected to be the test site with its headquarters at Malan. Construction of the test site began on 1 April 1960, involving tens of thousands of laborers and prisoners under tough conditions.<ref name=":1" /> It took four years to complete. Being the sole site for nuclear testing in China for years to come, the Lop Nur test site underwent extensive expansion and is by far the world's largest nuclear weapons test site, covering around 100,000 square kilometers.<ref>[http://www.nti.org/learn/facilities/710/ "Lop Nor Nuclear Weapons Test Base \| Facilities"]. ''Nuclear Threat Initiative''. Retrieved 2017-06-02.</ref>

	Sino-Soviet relations cooled during 1958 to 1959. China was upset by the lack of Soviet assistance in quelling the [[1959 Tibetan uprising\|Tibetan uprisings in 1959]] and against the escape of the [[Dalai Lama]] to India.<ref name=":4">[https://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/one-fingers-worth-historical-events-new-russian-and-chinese-evidence-the-sino-soviet ""One Finger's Worth of Historical Events": New Russian and Chinese Evidence on the Sino-Soviet Alliance and Split, 1948–1959"]. ''Wilson Center''. 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2017-06-02.</ref> The Soviet Union later refused support for China in the [[Sino-Indian War]] of 1962. Khrushchev was unnerved at Mao's relatively nonchalant view on nuclear war.<ref>Lewis, John Wilson and Xue Litai. ''China Builds the Bomb.'' (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1988), 63–66.</ref> The Soviet Union was also engaged in test ban negotiations with the United States in 1959 in order to relax Soviet-American tensions, directly inhibiting the delivery of a prototype to China. Broader disagreements between Soviet and Chinese communist ideologies escalated mutual criticism. The Soviets responded by withdrawing the delivery of a prototype bomb<ref name=":0" /> and over 1,400 Russian advisers and technicians involved in 200 scientific projects in China meant to foster cooperation between the two countries.<ref name=":4" />		Sino-Soviet relations cooled during 1958 to 1959. China was upset by the lack of Soviet assistance in quelling the [[1959 Tibetan uprising\|Tibetan uprisings in 1959]] and against the escape of the [[Dalai Lama]] to India.<ref name=":4">[https://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/one-fingers-worth-historical-events-new-russian-and-chinese-evidence-the-sino-soviet ""One Finger's Worth of Historical Events": New Russian and Chinese Evidence on the Sino-Soviet Alliance and Split, 1948–1959"]. ''Wilson Center''. 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2017-06-02.</ref> The Soviet Union later refused support for China in the [[Sino-Indian War]] of 1962. Khrushchev was unnerved at Mao's relatively nonchalant view on nuclear war.<ref>Lewis, John Wilson and Xue Litai. ''China Builds the Bomb.'' (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1988), 63–66.</ref> The Soviet Union was also engaged in test ban negotiations with the United States in 1959 in order to relax Soviet-American tensions, directly inhibiting the delivery of a prototype to China. Broader disagreements between Soviet and Chinese communist ideologies escalated mutual criticism. The Soviets responded by withdrawing the delivery of a prototype bomb<ref name=":0" /> and over 1,400 Russian advisers and technicians involved in 200 scientific projects in China meant to foster cooperation between the two countries.<ref name=":4" />
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	=== Japan ===		=== Japan ===
	While the [[1964 Summer Olympics]] which opened on 10 October was already underway in [[Tokyo]], China conducted the atomic bomb test six days into the competition, prompting ~~serious~~ and immediate concerns of radiation fallout in Japan as it relatively close to [[mainland China]].<ref>{{cite web\|title=China Explodes its First Atomic Bomb During the Tokyo Games\|url=https://theolympians.co/2015/05/29/china-explodes-its-first-atomic-bomb-during-the-tokyo-games/\|publisher=The Olympians\|access-date=11 March 2021}}</ref>		While the [[1964 Summer Olympics]] which opened on 10 October was already underway in [[Tokyo]], China conducted the atomic bomb test six days into the competition, prompting hysterical and immediate concerns of radiation fallout in Japan as it is relatively close to [[mainland China]].<ref>{{cite web\|title=China Explodes its First Atomic Bomb During the Tokyo Games\|date=28 May 2015 \|url=https://theolympians.co/2015/05/29/china-explodes-its-first-atomic-bomb-during-the-tokyo-games/\|publisher=The Olympians\|access-date=11 March 2021}}</ref>

	== China returns to the ~~UNSC~~ ==		== China returns to the United Nations Security Council ==
	[[File:Zhou Enlai announced the success of China's atomic bomb test.jpg\|thumb\|[[Zhou Enlai]] announcing the success of the test.]]		[[File:Zhou Enlai announced the success of China's atomic bomb test.jpg\|thumb\|[[Zhou Enlai]] announcing the success of the test.]]
	In response to the 596 test, the Chinese Nationalist leadership in Taiwan, including [[Chiang Kai-shek]], called for a military response against Communist Chinese nuclear facilities and the formation of an anti-communist defense organization.<ref>[http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/nukevault/ebb488/docs/Doc%2025%2010-23-64%20taiwan%20reaction.pdf "U.S. Embassy Taiwan telegram 1980 to State Department"] (PDF). The National Security Archive. October 23, 1964. Retrieved June 1, 2017.</ref> However, the United States would not risk strikes in China. [[Taiwan]] tried to launch [[Taiwan and weapons of mass destruction#Nuclear weapons\|its own nuclear weapons program]], but failed, and the U.S. pressured Taiwan to dismantle its nuclear weapons program as it would strain US-China relations.<ref>Albright, David; Gay, Corey (1 January 1998). [https://web.archive.org/web/20110227231955/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-54574534.html "Taiwan: Nuclear nightmare averted"]. ''[[Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists]]''. Retrieved 28 May 2015 – via [[HighBeam Research]].</ref> At the time of the test, the United States recognized Taiwan as the seat of the Chinese government, and Chinese membership in the [[United Nations]], including a permanent seat in the [[United Nations Security Council]], was held by Taiwan. With a nuclear weapon in the hands of Beijing, the international community would have to [[United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758\|shift its recognition to the mainland]], which it did a decade later.<ref name=":5" />		In response to the 596 test, the Chinese Nationalist leadership in Taiwan, including [[Chiang Kai-shek]], called for a military response against Communist Chinese nuclear facilities and the formation of an anti-communist defense organization.<ref>[http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/nukevault/ebb488/docs/Doc%2025%2010-23-64%20taiwan%20reaction.pdf "U.S. Embassy Taiwan telegram 1980 to State Department"] (PDF). The National Security Archive. October 23, 1964. Retrieved June 1, 2017.</ref> However, the United States would not risk strikes in China. [[Taiwan]] tried to launch [[Taiwan and weapons of mass destruction#Nuclear weapons\|its own nuclear weapons program]], but failed, and the U.S. pressured Taiwan to dismantle its nuclear weapons program as it would strain US-China relations.<ref>Albright, David; Gay, Corey (1 January 1998). [https://web.archive.org/web/20110227231955/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-54574534.html "Taiwan: Nuclear nightmare averted"]. ''[[Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists]]''. Retrieved 28 May 2015 – via [[HighBeam Research]].</ref> At the time of the test, the United States recognized Taiwan as the seat of the Chinese government, and Chinese membership in the [[United Nations]], including a permanent seat in the [[United Nations Security Council]], was held by Taiwan. With a nuclear weapon in the hands of Beijing, the international community would have to [[United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758\|shift its recognition to the mainland]], which it did a decade later.<ref name=":5" />
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	[[Category:Chinese nuclear weapons testing]]		[[Category:Chinese nuclear weapons testing]]
	[[Category:Cold War weapons of China]]		[[Category:Cold War weapons of China]]
	[[Category:~~History of~~ Xinjiang]]		[[Category:20th century in Xinjiang]]
	[[Category:October 1964 events in Asia]]		[[Category:October 1964 events in Asia]]
			[[Category:China Projects]]

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2022-05-24T07:53:45Z

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{{short description|First Chinese nuclear test, 1964}}
{{Infobox Nuclear weapons test
|name = Project 596
|picture = 1965-01 1964年首次原子弹爆炸3.jpg
|picture_description = The mushroom cloud from the test
|country = [[People's Republic of China]]
|test_site = [[Lop Nur#Nuclear Weapons Test Base|Lop Nur Test Base]]
|period = 16 October 1964
|number_of_tests = 1
|test_type = [[Atmospheric nuclear testing|Atmospheric]]
|device_type = Fission
|max_yield = {{convert|22|ktonTNT|lk=in}}
|previous_test = None
|next_test = [[Test No. 6]]
}}
'''Project 596''', ('''Miss Qiu''' ({{lang-zh|邱小姐}}, Qiū Xiǎojiě) as the callsign,<ref>{{cite book |last=Fravel |first=Taylor |author-link=Taylor Fravel |title=Active Defense: China's Military Strategy Since 1949 |date=23 April 2019 |page=254 |isbn=9780691152134}}</ref> '''Chic-1''' by the US intelligence agencies<ref name="cia1971" />) was the first [[nuclear weapon]]s [[Nuclear testing|test]] conducted by the [[People's Republic of China]], detonated on 16 October 1964, at the [[Lop Nur]] test site. It was a [[uranium-235]] [[Nuclear weapon design|implosion fission device]] made from weapons-grade uranium ([[Uranium-235|U-235]]) enriched in a [[gaseous diffusion]] plant in [[Lanzhou]].<ref name=":0">[https://www.ctbto.org/specials/testing-times/16-october-1964-first-chinese-nuclear-test "16 October 1964 – First Chinese nuclear test: CTBTO Preparatory Commission"]. ''www.ctbto.org''. Retrieved 2017-06-01.</ref>

The atomic bomb was a part of China's "[[Two Bombs, One Satellite]]" program. It had a yield of 22 [[TNT equivalent|kiloton]]s, comparable to the [[Soviet Union|Soviet Union's]] first nuclear bomb [[RDS-1]] in 1949 and the American [[Fat Man]] bomb dropped on [[Nagasaki|Nagasaki, Japan]] in 1945.<ref>Bukharin, Oleg; Podvig, Pavel Leonardovich; Hippel, Frank Von (2004). [https://books.google.be/books?id=CPRVbYDc-7kC&pg=PA441 ''Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces'']. MIT Press. p. 441. {{ISBN|9780262661812}}.</ref> With the test, China became the [[List of states with nuclear weapons|fifth nuclear power in the world]] and the first [[Asia|Asian]] nation to possess nuclear capability. This was the first of [[List of nuclear weapons tests of China|45 successful nuclear tests]] China conducted between 1964 and 1996, all of which occurred at the Lop Nur test site.<ref name=":1">NORRIS, ROBERT S. (1996-03-01). [[doi:10.1177/0967010696027001006|"French and Chinese Nuclear Weapon Testing"]]. ''Security Dialogue''. '''27''' (1): 39–54. [[Digital object identifier|doi]]:[https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0967010696027001006 10.1177/0967010696027001006]. [[International Standard Serial Number|ISSN]] [https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0967-0106 0967-0106].</ref>

== Development ==

=== Motivation ===
The [[Chinese nuclear weapons program]] was initiated on 15 January 1955. The decision made by the Chinese leadership was prompted by confrontations with the United States in the 1950s, including the [[Korean War]], the 1955 [[First Taiwan Strait Crisis|Taiwan Straits Crisis]], [[nuclear blackmail]], and eventually the [[Vietnam War]] as well.<ref name=":2">[http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/nukevault/ebb488/ "China's Advance toward Nuclear Status in Early 1960s Held Surprises for U.S. Analysts, Generated Conflicting Opinions about the Potential Dangers"]. ''nsarchive.gwu.edu''. October 16, 2014. Retrieved 2017-06-02.</ref> [[Mao Zedong]] explained his decision to a gathering of the [[Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party]] in 1956:

"Now we're already stronger than we were in the past, and in the future we'll be even stronger than now. Not only are we going to have more airplanes and artillery, but also the atomic bomb. In today's world, if we don't want to be bullied, we have to have this thing."<ref>Archive, Wilson Center Digital. [http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/document/114337 "Wilson Center Digital Archive"]. ''digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org''. Retrieved 2017-06-02.</ref>

Mao was confident that nuclear weapon capabilities would allow China to assert its "national will" toward policy goals and deter threats to national security.

=== Design and testing ===
The Soviet Union helped with some initial research, design, and production preparations. However, it later withdrew support at the last minute, and China had to rely on itself to complete the bomb.{{Citation needed|reason=Needs a source, also needs clarification as to what constitutes the "last minute" as well as the phrase "rely on itself". If they had already received support as the preceding sentence intimates, then this is a nebulous (nearly contradictory) statement |date=December 2021}}

In 1956, the Third Ministry of Machinery Building was established, and nuclear research was conducted at the Institute of Physics and Atomic Energy in Beijing. A [[gaseous diffusion]] uranium enrichment plant was constructed in Lanzhou. In 1957, China and the USSR signed an agreement on sharing defense technology that involved an atomic bomb prototype being supplied by Moscow to Beijing, technical data, and an exchange of hundreds of Russian and Chinese scientists.<ref name=":3">[http://www.nti.org/learn/countries/china/nuclear/ "China | Nuclear"]. ''Nuclear Threat Initiative''. April 2015. Retrieved June 2, 2017.</ref> A joint search for uranium in China was conducted between the two countries. A location near Lake Lop Nur in [[Xinjiang|Xinjiang Province]] was selected to be the test site with its headquarters at Malan. Construction of the test site began on 1 April 1960, involving tens of thousands of laborers and prisoners under tough conditions.<ref name=":1" /> It took four years to complete. Being the sole site for nuclear testing in China for years to come, the Lop Nur test site underwent extensive expansion and is by far the world's largest nuclear weapons test site, covering around 100,000 square kilometers.<ref>[http://www.nti.org/learn/facilities/710/ "Lop Nor Nuclear Weapons Test Base | Facilities"]. ''Nuclear Threat Initiative''. Retrieved 2017-06-02.</ref>

Sino-Soviet relations cooled during 1958 to 1959. China was upset by the lack of Soviet assistance in quelling the [[1959 Tibetan uprising|Tibetan uprisings in 1959]] and against the escape of the [[Dalai Lama]] to India.<ref name=":4">[https://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/one-fingers-worth-historical-events-new-russian-and-chinese-evidence-the-sino-soviet ""One Finger's Worth of Historical Events": New Russian and Chinese Evidence on the Sino-Soviet Alliance and Split, 1948–1959"]. ''Wilson Center''. 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2017-06-02.</ref> The Soviet Union later refused support for China in the [[Sino-Indian War]] of 1962. Khrushchev was unnerved at Mao's relatively nonchalant view on nuclear war.<ref>Lewis, John Wilson and Xue Litai. ''China Builds the Bomb.'' (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1988), 63–66.</ref> The Soviet Union was also engaged in test ban negotiations with the United States in 1959 in order to relax Soviet-American tensions, directly inhibiting the delivery of a prototype to China. Broader disagreements between Soviet and Chinese communist ideologies escalated mutual criticism. The Soviets responded by withdrawing the delivery of a prototype bomb<ref name=":0" /> and over 1,400 Russian advisers and technicians involved in 200 scientific projects in China meant to foster cooperation between the two countries.<ref name=":4" />

Project 596 was named after the month of June 1959 in which it was initiated as an independent nuclear project, immediately after [[Nikita Khrushchev]] decided to stop helping the Chinese with their nuclear program on 20 June 1959, and Mao shifted toward an overall policy of self-reliance. By 14 January 1964, enough fissionable U-235 had been successfully enriched from the Lanzhou plant. On 16 October 1964, a uranium-235 fission implosion device, weighing 1550 kilograms was detonated on a 102-meter tower.<ref name=":1" />

== Reception ==

=== United States ===
[[File:ChinaABomb 2.jpg|thumb|Satellite image of the Lop Nur test site taken by an American KH-4 Corona intelligence satellite on 20 October 1964, 4 days after the 596 test.]]
The United States government was aware of Soviet support of a Chinese nuclear program, but after the Soviets withdrew support in 1959, some U.S. officials underestimated the sole capability of China to develop a nuclear weapon, and were surprised when China proved them wrong. Namely, they thought there was an insufficient source for weapons-grade U-235 production and that the significance of a nuclear China was underplayed.<ref name=":2" /> Still, President [[John F. Kennedy|Kennedy]] proposed preventive action but it was decided against by the U.S. government as it was "likely to be viewed as provocative and dangerous and will play into the hands of efforts by [Beijing] to picture U.S. hostility to Communist China as the source of tensions and the principal threat to the peace in Asia."<ref>Johnson, Robert (April 22, 1964). [http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/nukevault/ebb488/docs/Doc%2016%204-22-64%20R%20Johnson%20bases%20for%20direct%20action.pdf "The Bases for Direct Action Against Chinese Communist Nuclear Facilities"] (PDF). The National Security Archive. Retrieved June 1, 2017.</ref> By early 1964, from surveillance of activity around the Lop Nur site, it was clear that a test would be imminent.

The next step for China was to develop the mode of delivery of a nuclear payload. Just eight months after the 596 test, a deliverable nuclear bomb was successfully dropped from a bomber and detonated. A year later, medium range missiles were fitted with nuclear warheads. The Lop Nur test site was used to develop more sophisticated nuclear weapons such as the [[Thermonuclear weapon|hydrogen bomb]], multi-stage thermonuclear devices, and [[Intercontinental ballistic missile|Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles]] (ICBM).<ref name=":1" /> While China's nuclear arsenal was modest compared to that of the Soviet Union and the United States,<ref>Wheeler, Earle (3 December 1964). [http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/nukevault/ebb488/docs/doc%2032%2012-3-64%20JCS%20evaluation.pdf "A Military Appraisal of Chinese Acquisition of Nuclear Weapons"] (PDF). The National Security Archive. Retrieved June 2, 2017.</ref> the presence of another nuclear power in Asia raised the issue of uncontrolled proliferation. The USA took measures to forestall the independent development of nuclear capabilities in more Asian nations, most immediately with India.<ref>Johnson, Robert (October 15, 1963). [http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/nukevault/ebb488/docs/doc%2012%2010-15-63%20johnson%20study.pdf "Policy Planning Statement on A Chinese Communist Nuclear Detonation and Nuclear Capability"] (PDF). The National Security Archive. Retrieved June 2, 2017.</ref> Top U.S. officials began open talks of non-proliferation with the Soviet Union soon after the 596 test to offset the possibility of a nuclear China propelling a larger and more unpredictable global arms race.<ref name=":5">Rosen, Armin. [http://www.businessinsider.com/how-the-us-reacted-to-chinas-first-nuclear-test-2014-10 "Here's How The US Reacted To China's First Nuclear Test 50 Years Ago"]. ''Business Insider''. Retrieved 2017-06-02.</ref>

=== Soviet Union ===
Chinese nuclear capacity prompted the Soviet Union to sign the 1968 [[Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons]] with the United States as well as China.<ref>[http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/china-joins-a-bomb-club "China joins A-bomb club – Oct 16, 1964"]. HISTORY.com. Retrieved 2017-06-02.</ref>

=== Japan ===
While the [[1964 Summer Olympics]] which opened on 10 October was already underway in [[Tokyo]], China conducted the atomic bomb test six days into the competition, prompting serious and immediate concerns of radiation fallout in Japan as it relatively close to [[mainland China]].<ref>{{cite web|title=China Explodes its First Atomic Bomb During the Tokyo Games|url=https://theolympians.co/2015/05/29/china-explodes-its-first-atomic-bomb-during-the-tokyo-games/|publisher=The Olympians|access-date=11 March 2021}}</ref>

== China returns to the UNSC ==
[[File:Zhou Enlai announced the success of China's atomic bomb test.jpg|thumb|[[Zhou Enlai]] announcing the success of the test.]]
In response to the 596 test, the Chinese Nationalist leadership in Taiwan, including [[Chiang Kai-shek]], called for a military response against Communist Chinese nuclear facilities and the formation of an anti-communist defense organization.<ref>[http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/nukevault/ebb488/docs/Doc%2025%2010-23-64%20taiwan%20reaction.pdf "U.S. Embassy Taiwan telegram 1980 to State Department"] (PDF). The National Security Archive. October 23, 1964. Retrieved June 1, 2017.</ref> However, the United States would not risk strikes in China. [[Taiwan]] tried to launch [[Taiwan and weapons of mass destruction#Nuclear weapons|its own nuclear weapons program]], but failed, and the U.S. pressured Taiwan to dismantle its nuclear weapons program as it would strain US-China relations.<ref>Albright, David; Gay, Corey (1 January 1998). [https://web.archive.org/web/20110227231955/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-54574534.html "Taiwan: Nuclear nightmare averted"]. ''[[Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists]]''. Retrieved 28 May 2015 – via [[HighBeam Research]].</ref> At the time of the test, the United States recognized Taiwan as the seat of the Chinese government, and Chinese membership in the [[United Nations]], including a permanent seat in the [[United Nations Security Council]], was held by Taiwan. With a nuclear weapon in the hands of Beijing, the international community would have to [[United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758|shift its recognition to the mainland]], which it did a decade later.<ref name=":5" />

Since the 596 test China has asserted its nuclear doctrine of [[No first use|no-first-use]], with officials characterizing the Chinese nuclear arsenal as a minimal deterrent to nuclear attack.<ref name=":3" />

==Specifics==
* '''Time''': 07:00 [[GMT]] 16 October 1964
* '''Location''': Lop Nur Test Ground, {{coord|40|48|45|N|89|47|24|E|display=inline|name=Lop Nur Project 596}}, about 70 km northwest of Lop Nor dry lake<ref name="cia1971">''Communist China's Weapons Program for Strategic Attack'', NIE 13-8-71 (Top Secret, declassified June 2004), Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, D.C., 1971.</ref>
* '''Test type and height ''': Tower, 102 meters
* '''Yield''': 22 kilotons

==See also==
* [[Two Bombs, One Satellite]]
* [[People's Republic of China and weapons of mass destruction]]
* [[RDS-1]]
* [[Test No. 6]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/collection/105/chinese-nuclear-history Chinese Nuclear History]{{snd}}A collection of archival materials on the Chinese nuclear weapons program hosted at the Nuclear Proliferation International History Project
* [http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/China/ChinaTesting.html China's Nuclear Weapons] from the [http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/ Nuclear Weapon Archive]
* [http://www.atomicforum.org/china/china.html Chinese Nuclear Weapons Program] from [http://www.atomicforum.org/ Atomic Forum]

[[Category:1964 in China]]
[[Category:1964 in military history]]
[[Category:Chinese nuclear weapons testing]]
[[Category:Cold War weapons of China]]
[[Category:History of Xinjiang]]
[[Category:October 1964 events in Asia]]