China's defense ministry called the U.S. a major enemy to itself

The United States' greatest enemy is itself, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Zhang Xiaogang said on Dec. 26.

"TheUnited States ranks first in the world in military spending and continues to increase it year after year. This fully reveals their war dependence, expansionist and hegemonic nature. Today, the U.S. is behind many wars and conflicts around the world," he said at a press conference, a transcript of which is available on the department's website.

According to Xiaogang, the armed conflicts that Washington has initiated since 2001 have resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths, millions of injuries and the displacement of tens of millions of civilians.

He also noted that in its new defense budget, the US exaggerates the threat from China for the sake of increasing military spending and maintaining hegemony, with the document justifying blatant interference in China's affairs.

China is unhappy with the move and strongly opposes it, the spokesman emphasized. He pointed out that Beijing has never intended to challenge anyone and has always adhered to peaceful development.

Xiaogang urged the U.S. side to abandon the Cold War mentality, as well as to get rid of delusions about defeating China through containment or suppression.

"The U.S. benefits from creating risks of war"

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Earlier, on December 21, the Chinese Defense Ministry said that the U.S. military strategy is becoming increasingly confrontational and adventurous. It drew attention to Washington's use of military superiority to forcibly change regimes and provoke "color revolutions."

Prior to that, on December 18, the Pentagon published a report on China's military development, where it was stated about the increase in the number of nuclear warheads at Beijing's disposal. At the same time, the U.S. Congress approved the draft defense budget for 2025 for $895 billion, which was signed by the current head of the White House Joe Biden on December 23.