Donald Trump ‘ignores facts’: Chinese military hits back at claim it is trying to challenge US interests
Beijing hits back after US president’s new national security strategy highlights perceived challenge to American interests
The Chinese military has rejected US President Donald Trump’s accusation that it is a challenge to American’s national security, according to a statement released late on Wednesday night.
The Chinese defence ministry said Trump’s speech on Monday “ignored facts, hyped up China’s defence modernisation progress, questioned the intention of Chinese military development, and went against peaceful developments of these times and of Sino-US relations”.
The comments were in response to Trump’s new national security strategy that said China was developing “advanced weapons and capabilities” that could threaten the US’ “critical infrastructure and our command and control architecture”.
Trump’s strategy accused China of seeking to “displace the US in the Indo-Pacific region, expand the reach of its state-driven economic model and reorder the region in its favour”.
The president’s tone was a stark contrast to that of his predecessor Barack Obama, who referred to China as a “strategic partner” despite tensions between the two sides.