China has lodged solemn representations with the United States over its newly released National Defense Strategy report, a Defense Ministry spokesman said on Friday, saying that those countries that form cliques to conduct "integrated deterrence" in the Asia Pacific are the "pacing challenge" — a description that the report used to describe China — to the international system.

"The China-related content of the report has continued its wrong 'threat-driven theory', hyped up the so-called China challenge and power competition, and smeared China's normal military development by planning US defense strategy," Senior Colonel Tan Kefei, spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense, said in a statement.

The report was "striking up the same old tune" of Cold War mentality and zero-sum game, he said, adding that the Chinese side firmly opposes it.

Tan said China is firmly committed to the path of peaceful development, upholds the United Nations-centered international system and has been taking concrete actions to uphold peace, promote development and participate in cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.

"A strong Chinese military is not only a strategic support for safeguarding national sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, but also a staunch force for world and regional peace and stability," the official said, stressing that has been witnessed by the international community.

Tan criticized "those countries that stubbornly put their own interests first" and form coalitions for "integrated deterrence" in the Asia Pacific that are the "pacing challenge" to the international system and the Asia-Pacific region.

Tan also refuted the US report on the Taiwan question and China's nuclear strategy.

"Taiwan is China's Taiwan, and the Taiwan question is China's internal affair that tolerates no foreign interference," he stressed, noting that currently the US continues to hollow out the one-China principle and further contain China by utilizing Taiwan.

"These acts seriously violate China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and seriously endanger peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits," said the spokesman, warning that the People's Liberation Army continues to train and prepare for war, and would resolutely counter any form of "Taiwan independence" separatist activities and external interference.

He reiterated that the nuclear strategy of self-defense of China adheres to the nuclear policy of not being the first to use nuclear weapons at any time and under any circumstance, and the country has always kept its nuclear forces at the minimum level required for its national security.

"China has taken an active part in the international arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation process," Tan said, adding that China has signed or acceded to more than 20 such multiple processes, including the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

On the contrary, the spokesman underlined that it is the US side that has broken agreements in arms control and non-proliferation, accelerated the upgrading of nuclear weapons and their carriers, and lowered the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons.