China has not changed the policy it has persistently upheld for half a century and other countries should also commit to it

On April 16 the Information Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China released its latest defense white paper. As usual, this document attracted immediate media attention and triggered wide-ranging discussions about the intentions and capabilities of China's armed forces. One speculation has been that China might have changed or be considering changes to its long-held nuclear weapons policy of no first use, because for the first time the white paper has failed to reiterate China's pledge not to use nuclear weapons first.

However, a careful reading of this year's white paper and a study of all such papers since 1998 easily explains the conspicuous absence of this key phrase, which is usually repeated in Chinese official documents on defense and nuclear policy.