BEIJING -- The Golden Dome system pressed ahead by the United States and its other actions to deploy space-based weapons will heighten the risk of triggering a space arms race, said a Chinese defense spokesperson on Thursday.

At a press conference, Zhang Xiaogang, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, criticized such acts for violating relevant principles of the Outer Space Treaty.

"The US actions will once again open the Pandora's box," Zhang said. "This proves again that no country has done more than the United States in militarizing the space and making it a battlefield."

China urges the US side to stop expanding its military build-up in space and to take concrete actions to uphold global strategic stability, he said.