BEIJING – China’s Defence Ministry has lodged a complaint with the UnitedStates about a Pentagon report that said China’s military was likelytraining for strikes against the United States and its allies, saying itwas “pure guesswork”.
The assessment, at a time of heightened US-China tensions over trade, wascontained in an annual report that highlighted China’s efforts to increaseits global influence, with defense spending that the Pentagon estimatedexceeded $190 billion in 2017.
China’s Defence Ministry said in a statement late on Friday that thePentagon report misrepresented China’s strategic intentions and exaggeratedthe “so-called China military threat.”
“China’s military expresses resolute opposition to this and has lodgedstern representations with the US side,” it said.
China is on the path of peaceful development and pursues a defensivenational strategy, and has always been a contributor to world peace andprotector of the global order, the ministry said.
“The Chinese military’s strengthening of modernization is to protect thecountry’s sovereignty, security and development interests, as well asglobal peace, stability and prosperity,” it said.
“The Chinese military’s reform, weapons development and defensivecapabilities in the internet space are just and reasonable. The criticismin the US report is pure guesswork.”