China warns Donald Trump's Golden Dome missile shield risks triggering arms race

China had warned that Donald Trump's huge 'Golden Dome' missile shield risks triggering a new 'arms race'.

This morning, 's Foreign Ministry said the US's increases the risk of a global arms race between powers - and "urged" the White House to abandon its development and deployment "as soon as possible". In his announcement yesterday evening from the Oval Office, said he expects the system will be "fully operational before the end of my term," which ends in 2029, and will have the capability of intercepting missiles "even if they are launched from space." The hi-tech system, which is proposed to include elements both on the ground and orbiting Earth in space, would be able to detect and stop missiles at all four major stages of a potential attack, the White House said.

This includes detecting and destroying them before a launch, intercepting them in their earliest stage of flight, stopping them midcourse in the air, or halting them in the final minutes as they descend toward a target.

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Trump said yesterday that he had not yet spoken to Russian President about the Golden Dome programme, but intended to "at the right time."

In a joint statement earlier this month, and called the Golden Dome idea "deeply destabilising in nature," warning it would turn "outer space into an environment for placing weapons and an arena for armed confrontation."

The Congressional Office estimated this month that the space-based components of the Golden Dome alone could cost as much as $542 billion (£400 billion) over the next 20 years.

Trump has requested an initial $25 billion (£18 billion) for the programme in his proposed tax break bill, which is now moving through Congress.

The Pentagon has warned for years that the newest missiles developed by China and Russia are so advanced that updated countermeasures are necessary.

But concerns have been raised over whether the proposal could be used to line the pockets of Trump's cronies, including Tesla billionaire and DOGE head Elon Musk.

In a letter to the Defence Department’s inspector general earlier this month, a group of 42 Democratic lawmakers wrote: "This is a deeply troubling report."

"All of this raises concerns about whether defence contracts to build a Golden Dome are an effective way to protect Americans or are meant to enrich Mr. Musk and other elites."