A major concern trending on China’s Weibo in the wake of the US unleashing bunker buster bombs on Iran’s nuclear facilities: could China withstand an attack of this kind?
The concern missed the point that the US has never attacked any country which has nuclear weapons. It has not hit North Korea despite repeated provocations, nor Pakistan which has its uses in the realisation of US strategic and tactical goals.
It did sanction India in the wake of the Shakti series of nuclear tests in 1998, but a decade later it resulted in the India US Nuclear Deal.
The chatter among Chinese netizens does suggest lack of knowledge about their country’s defensive capabilities, more so the 300-odd nuclear weapons that the PLA reportedly has in its arsenal, that are enough to deter the US.
Therefore, the buzz about the extent of U.S. military airpower, the capabilities of the B2 stealth bomber and whether China’s defences would be able to withstand an attack.
Some wondered what the strike on Fodrow, Natanz and Esfahan may have achieved. Others were dismissive, mocking the operation with one verified Weibo user posting, “This news must be completely fake—how can the U.S. carry out such a large-scale military strike?”
On the other side were loyalists of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), commonly referred to as “Little Pinks”, alert to any trend on social media that could go against the regime.
For over 24 hours, they flooded Weibo with posts aimed at downplaying the effectiveness of the U.S. strike and reassuring fellow users of China’s superior defence capabilities. Their goal: to prevent any erosion of public confidence in China’s military strength.
“Little Pinks” have also been actively posting argumentative content online, claiming that China’s J-36 stealth fighter has been specifically developed to counter the B-2 stealth bomber.
The buzz on the web echoed the fact that China and Iran are bound by a 25-year strategic pact signed in 2021. Military ties have been growing, but the U.S. the strike has prompted fresh reflection on power dynamics from Tehran to Taipei.
On QQ, a platform akin to Facebook and Instagram, a verified military content creator based in Yunnan, compared Iran’s vulnerabilities to China’s defensive strength. Unlike Iran, he pointed out, China is equipped with a sophisticated, multi-layered air defence system.
Rather predictably, China’s state-controlled media outlets, including Global Times and People’s Daily, have condemned the U.S. strikes, framing them as reckless and destabilising.
