China is building a new military command centre near Beijing that is expected to be 10 times the size of the Pentagon, a report in Financial Times, citing US intelligence officials has claimed. Dubbed “Beijing Military City”, the construction on the project started in mid-2024 with recent satellite images showing deep holes dug in the 1,500-acre area, located 30 km southwest of the capital city.

The new military command may house large buildings and hardened bunkers, designed to protect the top Politburo officials during any conflict, including a nuclear war.

“Nearly 10 times bigger than the Pentagon, it’s fitting for Xi Jinping’s ambitions to surpass the US,” an unnamed Chinese researcher told the publication. “This fortress only serves one purpose, which is to act as a doomsday bunker for China’s increasingly sophisticated and capable military.”

“Guards at one gate abruptly said that entry was prohibited and refused to talk about the project. One supervisor leaving the construction site refused to comment on the project,” the report stated.

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China’s future plans

Currently, China’s main command center is located in the Western Hills, northeast of the new facility, and was built decades ago at the height of the Cold War.

“If confirmed, this new advanced underground command bunker for the military leadership, including President Xi as the chairman of the Central Military Commission, signals Beijing’s intent to build not only a world-class conventional force but also an advanced nuclear warfighting capability,” said Dennis Wilder, the former head of China analysis for the CIA.

Notably, the Pentagon serves as the headquarters of the Department of Defense and is located in Arlington in the state of Virginia. It is one of the world’s largest office buildings and hub of Washington’s foreign policy.

The development comes in the backdrop of China rapidly increasing its nuclear arsenal to be prepared for any Western misadventure. As per the Pentagon, Beijing will have 1,500 operable nuclear weapons by 2035, matching the firepower of the United States.

An expected meeting between Xi Jinping and Joe Biden would not be smooth-sailing said China’s Foreign Minister. File
| Photo Credit: AP

China’s Foreign Minister considers that the road to an expected meeting between President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden would not be “smooth-sailing” and that both sides must work together to achieve results, the Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.

Wang Yi met with Mr. Biden, as well as Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, during a three-day visit to Washington. Both sides agreed to work toward a bilateral meeting at the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit in San Francisco in November.

In a statement released by China’s Foreign Ministry summarising the discussions with members of the “U.S. strategic community,” Mr. Wang said that the road to the bilateral meeting would not be “smooth sailing” and that they could not rely on “autopilot” to make it happen.

Mr. Wang’s three-day visit to Washington came at a time when tensions between the two countries remain high, including over U.S. export controls on advanced technology and China’s more assertive actions in the East and South China seas.

The statement said that although there are still many issues to be resolved, both sides believe that it is both beneficial and necessary for the U.S. and China to maintain dialogue.

The meeting is the latest in a series of high-level contacts between the two countries as they explore the possibility of stabilising an increasingly tense relationship at a time of conflict in Ukraine and Israel.

According to the Foreign Ministry statement, Mr. Wang also said that China and the U.S. needed a “return to Bali,” in a reference to Mr. Xi and Mr. Biden’s previous meeting at a G-20 summit last year, where both officials discussed issues relating to Taiwan, U.S.-China trade tensions as well as cooperation to address issues like climate change, health and food security.

Mr. Wang said that the two countries must “eliminate interference, overcome obstacles, enhance consensus and accumulate results.”

Other issues discussed between Mr. Wang and Mr. Biden included military exchanges between the U.S. and China, as well as financial, technological and cultural exchanges and cooperation, as well as the crises in West Asia and Ukraine.