China's Foreign Ministry criticized a U.S. Pentagon report claiming that China would possess over 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030, labeling it as biased, factually distorted, and a promoter of the theory of a Chinese threat. The ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning, dismissed the report during a press briefing, emphasizing that China had no intentions of participating in a nuclear arms race.
Mao further explained that China maintained a nuclear strategy focused on self-defense, keeping its nuclear forces at the minimum necessary level for national security. He reiterated that China would not engage in a nuclear arms race with any country, provided that no nation threatened or used nuclear weapons against China.
The Pentagon's annual report, released on October 19, disclosed that China had more than 500 operational nuclear warheads in its arsenal as of May. Additionally, the report highlighted China's naval expansion, with its fleet increasing from 340 ships the previous year to over 370 ships and submarines.
This is not the first time the Pentagon has expressed concerns about China's growing nuclear capabilities. In a report from November the previous year, the Pentagon suggested that China could amass a stockpile of 1,500 nuclear warheads by 2035.
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