U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said at a press conference that: "It has become difficult for China to hide the enhancement of its capabilities and appears to have deviated from the decades-old nuclear strategy on minimum deterrence."

Price added: "Reports and other developments indicate that the nuclear arsenal of the People's Republic of China will grow faster and to a higher level than previously expected."

He continued: "This is disturbing and raises questions about the intention of the People's Republic of China. For us, it reinforces the importance of practical action to reduce nuclear risks. "

He also noted that Washington "encourages Beijing to communicate with it on practical actions to reduce the risks of destabilizing arms races."

The United States of America called on China to communicate with it on practical actions to reduce the risk of arms races, noting that Beijing's rapid strengthening of its nuclear capabilities was a matter of concern.

Price asked about a report published by The Washington Post that said China had begun building more than 100 new missile silos in a desert area in the western part of the country.

A US newspaper report quoted independent experts as saying that Beijing had begun building more than 100 new silos for intercontinental ballistic missiles in a desert area near the northwestern city of Yumin.

Commercial satellite images obtained by researchers at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in the U.S. state of California show ongoing work on dozens of sites across a network covering hundreds of square miles of arid terrain in China's Gansu province.

The 119 construction sites that are virtually identical - by definition - contain features that reflect those seen in China's current nuclear ballistic missile launch facilities.