1964 to 1966: China became the fifth nation to explode an atom bomb, a miraculous feat given its poor economic state and lack of expertise aggravated by the pullout of the Soviets due to a rift between Mao and Khrushchev. The return of foreign-trained scientists including hundreds of US-trained scientists and engineers (many who left because of racism or the lack of path to citizenship) greatly assisted the effort.
Qian Xuesen developed the first nuclear missile in 1966.
