In October of 1964, the Chinese government tested its first nuclear weapon. This was a large step for the communist state, the fifth country to join the nuclear club -- following the United States, Russia, England, and France. Although they did not pose an immediate threat to the Cold War, the presence of another communist country in possession of nuclear weapons was not good. The tensions between the U.S. and the USSR were extremely high. China, although they received large amounts of help with their nuclear research from Russia, pointed their new weapons at the country that had helped build them. Russia was now on edge and only made the relations between the U.S. and them more tense.