The Pentagon report, released Friday, expresses concerns over China's military buildup, saying it appears designed to give China the ability to fight wars far from its shores and thwart possible US advances. It also notes a lack of transparency in China's military spending and strategic doctrine.
While Beijing is yet to react officially, the official Chinese media has come down heavily on the report.
'The Pentagon has again made China one of America's causes for anxiety, creating tension in the air in Washington, ' said China Daily in a scathing editorial.
'The Pentagon is worried that China is acquiring better missiles, submarines and aircraft. In fact, most of the world is sharpening its military edge in one way or another without necessarily planning to go to war,' it said.
'The United States has long taken the lead, with military strength without rival. However, the Pentagon cannot tolerate military modernization by countries not allied with the US,' it added.
Quoting former supreme leader Deng Xiaoping's 24-character maxim which recommends that China "hide our capacities and bide our time; be good at maintaining a low profile," the Pentagon report says this "suggests both a short-term desire to play down China's capabilities and avoid confrontation, and a long-term strategy to build up China's power to maximize options for the future."
Rejecting this, China Daily said: 'the US has consistently criticized China for not being transparent about its military strategy. At the same time, it has ignored the reports China released.'
'China has been asked to fully explain the purpose of its military buildup, which the Pentagon considers a threat. In fact, the Pentagon is not on firm footing in painting its picture of China's military,' said the report, which was also run by the official Chinese news service Xinhua and various other newspapers like the People's Daily and China.
Referring to the report's suggestion that China may engage in preemptive strikes far from its borders, the China Daily said: 'China has never launched preemptive strikes against any country. It is not part of its defensive military strategy.'
'China's code of conduct is: We will not attack unless attacked; if attacked, we will certainly counterattack,' said the article. 'Preemptive strikes,' it said, 'top the US military strategy. The Pentagon is using its own mindset to probe the minds of others.'
The Pentagon 'refuses to understand China's strategy, which embraces the declared policy of never starting a nuclear war. With the Pentagon's limited thinking, it is likely to label many areas of the Chinese design as ambiguous. It is likely to conclude that China may be exploring "new options" provided by its military modernization,' it said.
'Yes, China is exploring new options - for economic growth. It has been devoting substantial resources to social and economic progress, not to military buildup,' it concludes.
