(MENAFN- Live Mint) Days after US President Donald Trump alleged that China has conducted underground nuclear tests unknown to the public, a CNN investigation has found that Beijing is rapidly expanding its missile production capabilities, replacing villages and farmland, into facilities over the period of five years.

Over 60% of 136 facilities connected to missile production or the Chinese military's rocket force have shown signs of expansion, said the report.

It further stated that the satellite images show new towers, bunkers and berms consistent with weapons development.

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Some factories are tucked into cities, next to residential buildings and restaurants - and the facilities were built near entities linked to the aerospace defense industries.

“China is already sprinting and they're preparing for a marathon,” said William Alberque, former NATO director of arms control.

Alberque termed the expansion as China positioning itself as a global superpower.

"We're in the initial phases of a new arms race,” added Alberque, who is also a senior adjunct fellow at the Pacific Forum.

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China's largest and growing inventory of modern weapons does pose a challenge to US intelligence collection efforts, argues Timothy Heath, a senior international defense researcher at RAND Corporation, in an article on TWZ.

Heath says that US intelligence capabilities are quite sophisticated and can collect considerable data on systems once they are deployed.

Stating that Chinese technology has improved considerably and many of their weapons and equipment systems lag only that of the United States, he added,“ These are sophisticated and deadly systems and could pose a serious challenge to US military forces on the battlefield.”

Meanwhile, China has commissioned its third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, at a ceremony attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping, wrapped in secrecy.

The aircraft carrier is stated to be the most modern warship equipped with an Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS), used only by the American aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford.

While the official media reported its commissioning on Friday, a report by state-run Xinhua news agency said that Xi attended the commissioning and flag-presentation ceremony of the Fujian on Wednesday at Sanya port in south China's Hainan Province, reported PTI.

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According to analysts, amid rising tensions with the US, China may build more aircraft carriers to operate in various global maritime routes

In September, for the first time, China displayed a range of new weapons at a massive military parade, which included laser weapons, nuclear ballistic missiles, giant underwater drones, besides fifth-generation aircraft, flaunting its military might.

One much-talked-about new weapon, displayed at the People's Liberation Army (PLA) parade was the giant LY-1 laser weapon, mounted on top of an eight-wheeled HZ-155 armoured truck.

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