Timelapse Shows China's Wartime Command Site 10 Times Larger Than Pentagon

By

Micah McCartney is a reporter for Newsweek based in Taipei, Taiwan. He covers U.S.-China relations, East Asian and Southeast Asian security issues, and cross-strait ties between China and Taiwan. You can get in touch with Micah by emailing m.mccartney@newsweek.com.

China News Reporter

Timelapse images show China's rapid construction of a military complex that U.S. officials say is on track to be at least 10 times the size of the Pentagon.

Newsweek has reached out to the Chinese Foreign Ministry with an emailed request for comment.

Why It Matters

The Financial Times cited former and current U.S. officials as saying the intelligence community is closely watching the sprawling 1,500-acre (2.3 square mile) site, which some are calling "Beijing Military City." Analysts have pointed to features that suggest Chinese leaders are preparing for a potential nuclear war with the United States.

This photograph captured on January 27, 2024, by the European Space Agency's Sentinel-2 satellites shows construction in progress at what U.S. officials say is a large wartime military command center on the western outskirts of... Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem

What To Know

The FT's analysis features European Space Agency Sentinel-2 satellite images showing progress on the project, with development appearing to start last year about 20 miles southwest of Beijing.

Experts said the deep holes apparent in the images may indicate preparations for the construction of hardened bunkers to house China's military leadership in the event of a war—and possibly a nuclear first strike.

Lyle Morris, an analyst at the New York-based Asia Society Policy Institute, drew parallels with the deep underground bunkers Chairman Mao Zedong and other top Chinese leaders fled to during the 1969 border conflict with the nuclear-armed Soviet Union.

This photograph captured on January 16, 2025, by the European Space Agency's Sentinel-2 satellites shows how construction has progressed at what U.S. officials say is a large military command center on the outskirts of Beijing. Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem

What People Are Saying

Lyle Morris, senior fellow for foreign policy and national security at the Asia Society Policy Institute, wrote on X: "One thing I can say with almost certainty: the deep bunkering suggests preparations for a nuclear C2 command. Given the CCP's utter paranoia about a U.S. first strike against the Mainland, this would be a compound for all senior CCP civilian and PLA leadership to move to for command and control during a nuclear war or crisis. China doesn't want to repeat what happened in 1969."

Mathieu Duchatel, policy analyst at the Paris-based Institut Montaigne think tank, wrote on X: "The scale is amazing and the picturing it being built in Xiangshan is striking when you've been there. But what it tells us, that China does not only want military power parity with the U.S. but superiority, and that China's leadership is vulnerable to a disarming first strike, is something we already know."

Dennis Wilder, former CIA deputy assistant director for East Asia and the Pacific, told the Financial Times: "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,"

What's Next?

Recent years have seen China steadily expand its nuclear capabilities and arsenal, and the Department of Defense projects the country will double its estimated 500 nuclear warheads by 2030.

A strong nuclear force is key to President Xi Jinping's goal of achieving great power parity with Washington, experts say.

Slide Circle to Vote

No Moderately Yes

VOTE