‘Full Of Prejudice’: China Blasts US Report About Nuclear Arsenal

China criticized a US Pentagon report about its military capabilities Friday, pointing out major differences in philosophy regarding foreign policy.

China’s Foreign Ministry sharply criticized a US report on China’s nuclear capabilities Friday, amidst continued tension between the two major world powers.

“China firmly adheres to a nuclear strategy of self-defense,” said spokesperson Mao Ning during a press conference. “We have always maintained our nuclear forces at the lowest level required for national security, and we have no intention of engaging in a nuclear arms race with any country.”

The Pentagon’s report, released Thursday, claimed China has 500 operational nuclear weapons in its arsenal, and also speculated that the Asian country is building greater capacity in non-nuclear arms.

“The United States report, like similar reports before it, ignores the facts, is full of prejudice and spreads the theory of the threat posed by China,” added Mao.

Mao also stressed that, unlike the US, China maintains an official “no first use” policy regarding nuclear arms, meaning that China would only use nuclear weapons if another country used them against China. Meanwhile, the US remains the only country to have ever used nuclear arms in a military conflict, having killed at least 200,000 people in their dropping of nuclear bombs on Japan during World War II.

“As long as any country does not use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against China, it will not be threatened by China's nuclear weapons,” concluded Mao.

The concern over Chinese military capabilities comes amidst significant US funding for Ukraine's military and proposed funding for Israel. Meanwhile, China has not been involved in a major military conflict since the Sino-Vietnamese War in 1979.