China condemns US ‘Cold War mentality’ on national security

China has condemned the “Cold War mentality” of the White House after the publication of a new US national security policy.

The document labels China and Russia as “rival powers” and lays out a number of potential threats they pose.

The new strategy said Beijing and other governments were determined to challenge American power.

But China’s foreign ministry criticised the strategy report, saying Washington should “abandon outdated notions”.

Spokeswoman Hua Chunying said: “No country or report will succeed in distorting facts or deploying malicious slander.

“We urge the US side to stop intentionally distorting China’s strategic intentions and to abandon outdated ideas of Cold War mentality and the zero-sum game.”

Russia also responded to the new strategy by saying it “cannot accept” that it is treated as a threat.

It also criticised what it said was the “imperialist character” of the document.

In the new US national security strategy, China and Russia are said to “challenge American power, influence and interests, attempting to erode American security and prosperity”.

“They are determined to make economies less free and less fair, to grow their militaries, and to control information and data to repress their societies and expand their influence.”

The new national security strategy contains a range of claims about China, including:

• China and Russia “are developing advanced weapons and capabilities” that could threaten the US
• Competitors such as China “steal US intellectual property valued at hundreds of billions of dollars”
• China and Russia are investing in the developing world “to expand influence and gain competitive advantages” over the US
• In Europe, China is gaining a foothold “by expanding its unfair trade practices and investing in key industries”
• China also “seeks to pull the [Central America] region into its orbit through state-led investments and loans”

Some of the claims have been made before, but the new document casts them as part of a battle for dominance. (Courtesy BBC)