That is the headline chosen by Global Times for its report on the remarks today by Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Zhang Xiaogang, responding to the recently-passed U.S. National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which plays up the alleged “China military threat.” The Chinese daily reported that Zhang dismissed the NDAA’s portrayal of China as a threat “as an excuse to increase U.S. military spending and maintain its hegemony,” at the cost of $895 billion for the U.S. and the undermining of world peace and stability—and thereby “accelerating its own decline.”
“China has no intention to challenge any country. In fact, the worst enemy of the U.S. is the U.S. itself. U.S. military expenditure has already topped the world’s for a long time, and which is still increasing rapidly year by year. This fully exposes the belligerent nature of the U.S. and its obsession with hegemony and expansion,” said Zhang, as paraphrased by Global Times.
“It is clear to all that many current wars and conflicts are a result of U.S. policy failures. The wars and military operations launched by the U.S. since 2001 have caused more than hundreds of thousands of deaths and millions of injuries, and displaced tens of millions of people….
