US President Donald Trump has instructed the US Department of War to immediately begin testing nuclear weapons on an "equal basis" with other nuclear powers.

The announcement on Thursday came ahead of his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday.

Posting to his social media platform, Truth Social, the Commander-in-Chief asserted that the US has more nuclear weapons that any other nation.

"This was accomplished, including a complete update and renovation of existing weapons, during my first term in office," Trump said in the post.

"Because of the tremendous destructive power, I hated to do it, but had no choice! Russia is second, and China is a distant third.

"Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our nuclear

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