China has undertaken a massive expansion of sites linked to missile production since 2020, bolstering its ability to potentially deter the US military and assert its dominance in the region, a new CNN analysis of satellite images, maps and government notices reveals.

The historic build-up stands in stark contrast to the United States’ own supply struggles.

More than 60% of 136 facilities connected to missile production or the Chinese military’s rocket force, which controls China’s nuclear arsenal, showed signs of expansion in satellite images.

The sites, which include factories as well as research and testing centers, have expanded by more than 21 million square feet (over 2 million square meters) of constructed floor space between early 2020 and late 2025. New towers, bunkers and berms consistent with weapons development have cropped up in satellite imagery of these growing sites. In some cases, missile parts can even be seen in the images.

“This is China positioning itself as a global superpower. We’re in the initial phases of a new arms race,” said William Alberque, a senior adjunct fellow at the Pacific Forum and former NATO director of arms control. “China is already sprinting and they’re preparing for a marathon.”

The data paints a picture of an urgent drive to develop capacity for new and more sophisticated missiles. Several of the production facilities that CNN analyzed have swiftly replaced villages and farmland, growing by tens of thousands of square feet in the past five years.

CNN identified the sites – including over a dozen previously unreported facilities – by examining publicly available information on China’s two major state-owned defense contractors and their subsidiaries, and then cross-checking the findings with geospatial analysis.

Since coming to power in 2012, Chinese leader Xi Jinping has poured billions of dollars into buying and upgrading military equipment, as part of a clearly defined ambition to rapidly transform the country’s armed services, known as the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), into a “world-class” fighting force.

Xi has als