The Minimum Means of Reprisal: China's Search for Security in the Nuclear Age

In The Minimum Means of Reprisal, Jeffrey Lewis examines China's nuclearand space capabilities and deployment strategies, as well as the Chinesegovernment's stance in arms control negotiations. Lewis finds that Chinese officialshold a "restrained view" about the role of nuclear weapons in national security andmaintain a limited nuclear capacity sufficient to dete

In The Minimum Means of Reprisal, Jeffrey Lewis examines China's nuclearand space capabilities and deployment strategies, as well as the Chinesegovernment's stance in arms control negotiations. Lewis finds that Chinese officialshold a "restrained view" about the role of nuclear weapons in national security andmaintain a limited nuclear capacity sufficient to deter attack but not large enoughfor control of these weapons to be compromised.The future of cooperative securityarrangements in space will depend largely on the U.S.-Chinese relationship, andLewis warns that changes in U.S. defense strategy, including the weaponization ofspace, could signal to China that its capabilities are not sufficient to deter theUnited States from the use of force. Such a shift could cause China to reconsiderits use of restraint in nuclear strategy, further damaging the already weakened armscontrol regime and increasing the nuclear threat to the United States and theworld.