Proposal and Soviet aid

Nie Rongzhen (left) with Chinese officials in Moscow (1957).

In the 1940s and 1950s, a group of notable scientists including Qian Weichang, Qian Xuesen, Deng Jiaxian, Peng Huanwu and Qian Sanqiang returned to mainland China.^[3][4][5]

In January 1955, Mao Zedong expressed the intention of developing atomic bombs during a meeting of the Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party.^[6]

In 1956, hundreds of experts were called by Zhou Enlai, Chen Yi, Li Fuchun and Nie Rongzhen to make plans for China's scientific development, eventually creating an outline of development for the period from 1956 to 1967 (1956-1967年科学技术发展远景规划纲要).^[7]

In 1958, Mao formally announced the development of nuclear bombs, missiles and satellite.^[6] At the same time, the Soviet Union had provided China with important assistance since 1955, even though on December 10, 1957, the Soviet Union proposed that the United States, the United Kingdom, and the USSR should halt nuclear weapons tests for the next two to three years, to which China supported.^[8][9][10]

Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution

Yao Tongbin, a leading missile expert of the "Two Bombs, One Satellite" program, was beaten to death in 1968 during the Cultural Revolution. He was one of the many scientists and other intellectuals who were persecuted.

Since 1958, the research on "Two Bombs, One Satellite" was negatively impacted by the Anti-Rightist Campaign and the Great Leap Forward, which caused the deaths of tens of millions in the Great Chinese Famine.^[9] In addition, since the Sino-Soviet split in late 1950s, the Soviet Union gradually ended its assistance to China and recalled all of its experts by 1958. By then, China had created its first experimental nuclear pile with the help of the Soviet Union.^{[6][9][10][11][12]}

In 1961–62, there was a disagreement among senior officials of the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese government on whether China should continue with the "Two Bombs, One Satellite" project.^[13] Eventually, in November 1962, a central committee led by Zhou Enlai, Nie Rongzhen and others was established, and the project was carried on.^[11][13]

In 1966, Mao launched the Cultural Revolution. Academics and intellectuals were regarded as "Stinking Old Ninth" and were widely persecuted.^[11] In 1968, among the leading scientists who worked on the "Two Bombs, One Satellite" program, Yao Tongbin was beaten to death and Zhao Jiuzhang committed suicide,^[14][15] and Guo Yonghuai was killed in a plane crash.^[16] By September 1971, more than 4,000 staff members of China's nuclear center in Qinghai were persecuted. More than 310 of them were permanently disabled, over 40 people committed suicide, and five were executed.^[17] Many researchers with overseas education background (especially from the United States and the United Kingdom) were regarded as "spies".^[18] Only a few scientists including Qian Xuesen were protected in the Revolution because of a special list made by Premier Zhou Enlai (approved by Mao) in August 1966.^[11]

The monument of the successful atomic detonation in Qinghai.

Timeline of milestones

• On October 16, 1964, China's first atomic bomb was successfully detonated in Lop Nur (code-name "Project 596"), making China the fifth country in the world to possess nuclear weapons.^[9]
• On October 27, 1966, China's first surface-to-surface missile (Dongfeng-2) carrying nuclear bomb was successfully launched and detonated.^[9][19]
• On June 17, 1967, China's first hydrogen bomb was successfully detonated in Lop Nur (code-name "Test No. 6").^[9][20]
• On September 22, 1969, China's first underground nuclear test was successfully detonated in Lop Nur.^[21][22]
• On April 24, 1970, China's first satellite (Dong Fang Hong I) was successfully launched into space, making China the fifth nation to put a spacecraft into orbit using its own rocket.^[23]