How to Kill 40.7 million Americans?

This chart shows all the Chinese missiles that target the US
By Alex Lockie

Tensions between China and the US are nearing the brink, as the Trump administration signals a tougher stance on trade and the South China Sea. 

In response, Chinese media has signaled a willingness to fight for Beijing's claims in the much-disputed region.
While Trump plans to oversee a massive military buildup of US forces, especially in the navy, China has been pushing an aggressive and far-reaching modernization of its military forces.
Additionally, China has built a series of artificial islands on the South China Sea and militarized them with the apparent intention of countering even the most advanced US platforms.
The infographic below shows the range of different Chinese missile platforms. 

Ones to note are the DF-21 "carrier killer," specifically designed to take out US aircraft carriers at long range, and the DF-41, a nuclear-capable missile that can reach anywhere in the US in 30 minutes. 

Chinese calculations for nuclear attacks on the U.S. are chillingly clear:
“Because the Midwest states of the U.S. are sparsely populated, in order to increase the lethality, [our] nuclear attacks should mainly target the key cities on the West Coast of the United States, such as Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego.”
“The 12 JL-2 nuclear warheads carried by one single Type 094 SSBN can kill 5 million to 12 million Americans.”
China also has developed land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles — notably the DF-31A, which has a range of 7,000 to 7,500 miles.
“If we launch our DF-31A ICBMs over the North Pole, we can easily destroy a whole list of metropolises on the East Coast and the New England region of the U.S., including Annapolis, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Portland, Baltimore and Norfolk, whose population accounts for about one-eighth of America’s total residents -- 40.7 million Americans,” the Global Times said.