China urges US to stop hyping China military threat narrative

China opposes constant US hyping of a China military threat narrative and urges Washington to stop manipulating the Taiwan question, the foreign ministry said on Monday.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks in response to US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley’s remarks at the National Press Club in Washington on Friday that China wanted “to be the regional hegemonic in Asia within the next 10 years” and “exceed global US military power by midcentury.”

The People’s Liberation Army was developing its military capabilities with a plan of “unification with Taiwan by 2027,” Milley was quoted as saying.

“Some in the US with evil intentions misrepresent facts and constantly hype up the China military threat narrative,” Wang told reporters at a routine press briefing in Beijing. “They are in fact creating excuses for their efforts of arms expansion, maintaining military hegemony and sabotaging regional peace and stability and finding ways to stoke tensions in the Taiwan Strait and use Taiwan to contain China.

China pursued a national defense policy that is defensive in nature and remains committed to peaceful development, he said.

“China’s military growth means a stronger force for world peace and is conducive to safeguarding peace and stability in the Asia Pacific and beyond,” the ministry spokesperson said. “Realizing the complete reunification of the motherland is the common aspiration of the Chinese people and we will strive for the prospects of peaceful reunification with utmost sincerity and efforts.”

Meanwhile, China would never allow anyone or any force to separate Taiwan from the motherland, he said.

“The US should stop smearing China, stop dangerously ramping up a military build-up, stop manipulating the Taiwan question, abide by the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiqués and safeguard regional peace and stability with concrete actions,” Wang said.