Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian (SCMP)

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian relayed on Wednesday the ways in which the US is devising plans to maintain military hegemony and nuclear power by employing the term "Chinese threat" as a pretext.

The US Defense Department published the 2022 China Military Power Report the day before, claiming that China could catalyze the pace of the modernization of its nuclear forces in the next 10 years, producing around 1,500 nuclear warheads by the year 2035.

During a press briefing, Zhao stated, "The United States has repeatedly inflated various versions of the Chinese threat theory in recent years to find an excuse to expand its own nuclear arsenal and maintain military hegemony, which is a common US reception," adding that his country's nuclear policy is transparent and consistent to the international community.

He reminded the press and viewers that China has never partaken in any arms race, "Beijing has strictly adhered to a nuclear defense strategy and the policy of not using nuclear weapons first, maintains considerable restraint in the development of nuclear forces, and always maintains its nuclear forces at the minimum level necessary to ensure national security," he continued to say.

A 2022 National Security Strategy published in the US in October categorized China as "the most consequential geopolitical challenge" and stated that it is this way because of its will and power, both military-wise and economic, to do so and reshape the international order.

Back in June, Lijian also took a jab at the US for its habits of using excuses to exert power, referring to the American presence in Syria and other Middle Eastern regions in a tweet.

The Persecutor of our times. #HumanRights pic.twitter.com/fmODsCKsLe
— Lijian Zhao 赵立坚 (@zlj517) June 20, 2022

Just earlier this month, the spokesperson told the US to stay in its lane, calling on it to stop its "harmful" actions affecting the global financial market and the investors' rights and to respect the rule of law and market.