China is preparing its largest warfare command centre China, according to the Financial Times. Satellite images reviewed by US intelligence agencies show a construction site of about 1,500 acres, 30 kilometers southwest of Pekin, with deep holes that military experts estimate will house, among other things, shelters to protect the Chinese military chiefs against any conflict, including a nuclear war.

Current and former US officials say the military command center China is preparing will be the largest in the world and at least 10 times the size of the Pentagon.

Construction of the project began in mid-2024 with analysts dubbing it the “Military City of Beijing.”

As FT notes, the project is progressing while the Lao People’s Liberation Army develops new weapons ahead of its one-century anniversary in 2027. U.S. intelligence agencies say President Xi Jinping has also ordered the country’s military to have developed the capability to attack Taiwan by then.

“If confirmed, this new advanced underground command bunker signals Beijing’s intention to not only become a world-class conventional force but also to acquire a nuclear warfighting capability,” said former China analysis chief for the CIA, Dennis Wilder.

For its part, the Chinese embassy in Washington was silent, contenting itself with the comment “we don’t know details” to add that China is “committed to the path of peaceful development and a defense policy that is defensive in nature.”

A former imagery analyst at the equivalent US National Intelligence Agency who examined the images estimated that there were at least 100 cranes in a five-square-kilometre area in the area where the “pharaonic” project is being constructed.

A former senior US intelligence official contacted by the FT said that while China’s current army headquarters in central Beijing was fairly new, it was not designed to be a secure combat command centre.

“China’s main command center was built decades ago at the height of the Cold War. Chinese military chiefs may believe the new facility will be safer against U.S. bunker busters or even nuclear weapons.”