China firmly opposes Pentagon report hyping up 'China threat'

China on Friday expressed strong dissatisfaction with and firm opposition to a US missile defense report's hyping up "China threat."

The report, Missile Defense Review, unveiled Thursday at the Pentagon, was the first update to the US missile defense policy since its 2010 version.

The report, with a cold war mentality and outdated concepts such as the zero-sum game, has ignored the peace and development theme of the times and exaggerated geopolitical confrontation and great-power competition with groundless hyping up of "China threat," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying.

"The US side's move is not constructive at all," Hua said, adding that it will jeopardize regional peace and security, impede the process of international nuclear disarmament, trigger arms races, and undermine global strategic balance and stability.

China always champions solving the missile proliferation through political and diplomatic means and opposes pursuing own interests at the price of other countries' security and interests, the spokesperson said.

Saying China is firmly committed to the path of peaceful development and a national defense policy that is defensive in nature, Hua stressed that China always exercises utmost restraint in developing its strategic forces "with no intention to pose a threat to any country, including the United States."

"We urge the US side to abandon the cold war mentality, maintain global and regional peace with a responsible attitude and take concrete actions to safeguard international peace and stability," Hua said.