CCTV News: According to the website of the Ministry of National Defense, on the afternoon of December 26, the Ministry of National Defense held a regular press conference. The spokesman of the Ministry of National Defense, Colonel Zhang Xiaogang, answered reporters’ questions.
Reporter: According to reports, US President Biden recently signed the "National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025" into law. The defense budget for the new fiscal year will be as high as 895.2 billion US dollars, and China is regarded as one of the major national security challenges. . Some analysts believe that the introduction of this bill reflects the United States’ deep anxiety about its own strength. What is the spokesperson's comment on this? Will China follow up with a substantial increase in defense spending?
Zhang Xiaogang: The relevant US bill exaggerates the so-called "China military threat", makes excuses to increase military spending and maintain hegemony, grossly interferes in China's internal affairs, and endangers world peace and stability. We are strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed to this.
China has never intended to challenge anyone. The biggest enemy of the United States is itself. The United States ranks first in the world in military spending and has increased its investment year by year, fully exposing its warlike addiction and hegemonic expansion nature. The shadow of the United States is behind many wars and conflicts in the world today. Since 2001, the wars and military operations launched by the United States have caused hundreds of thousands of deaths, millions of injuries, and tens of millions of people displaced. The United States' aggressive militarism is not only causing trouble to the world, but is also accelerating its backfire on itself.
The earth is big enough to accommodate the independent and joint development of China and the United States. China has always adhered to the path of peaceful development, pursued a defensive national defense policy, not engaged in an arms race with any country, and always insisted on being the guardian of world peace. We advise the United States to abandon the Cold War and zero-sum mentality and give up its obsession with winning against China by containing and suppressing it, so as not to disrupt or damage the relations between the two countries and their militaries. The Chinese military will resolutely counter all violations and provocations with stronger capabilities and more reliable means to safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests.