China and weapons of mass destruction
The People's Republic of China has developed and possesses weapons of mass destruction, including chemical and nuclear weapons. The first of China's nuclear weapons tests took place in 1964, and its first hydrogen bomb test occurred in 1966 at Lop Nur. Tests continued until 1996, when the country signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), but did not ratify it. China acceded to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) in 1984 and ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in 1997.
Zhou Enlai announces the success of China's atomic bomb test in 1964.
A celebration of Chinese nuclear missile tests in Tiananmen Square in Beijing in 1966.
Satellite image of the testing site 4 days after China's first atomic bomb test
A mock-up of China's first nuclear bomb.
Biological Weapons Convention
The Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), or Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC), is a disarmament treaty that effectively bans biological and toxin weapons by prohibiting their development, production, acquisition, transfer, stockpiling and use. The treaty's full name is the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction.
The Council Chamber at the Palace of Nations in Geneva where the BWC was negotiated
The Palace of Nations in Geneva, which houses the BWC ISU