A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Thursday refuted the United States State Department's accusations on China's military-civilian integration policy, urging the U.S. to stop deliberate provocation and malicious attacks against China.
China is strongly dissatisfied with, and firmly opposed to, repeated public distortions and smear campaigns from the U.S. regarding China's policy of integrated military-civilian development in recent years, spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a regular press briefing, stressing that the U.S. moves were based on political motives.
The U.S. has also engaged in moral abduction, political pressure, and even threatened sanctions against personnels of Chinese and American companies and academic institutions, he added.
It is a common international practice to promote integrated development of military and civilian sectors, Wang said, noting that the U.S. is no exception.
The United States has a history of "military-civil fusion" dating back to before World War I, and it has been carried out in an all-round and multi-field way, and at an even faster pace in recent years, according to Wang.
The U.S. Defense Department and military conduct various cooperation projects with American universities, R&D institutions, and private companies, Wang said, noting that some U.S. multinational companies, for instance, the Lockheed Martin, are the "military-civil fusion" per se, as their business operations and products cover both ends.
The U.S. accusations against China in this area is a typical double standard, the spokesperson said, pointing out that the real intention is to make excuses for blocking new and high technologies exports to China.
"Fundamentally, it is another product of the U.S. adherence to the Cold War mentality, and its attempt to contain China's development," said Wang.
The U.S. wrongdoing goes against the international cooperation spirit and the trend of the times, he said, warning it will harm the common interests of China, the United States as well as all other countries.
China's military-civilian integration policy is aimed at effectively integrating military and local resources, coordinating economic and social development with national defense development, and benefiting the public with more scientific and technological achievements, according to Wang.
"This policy is aboveboard and blameless," said the spokesperson, stressing that China's scientific and technological progress is attributed to the hard work and creativity of the Chinese people.
China urged the U.S. to immediately correct its wrongdoings, stop deliberate provocation and malicious attacks against China, and come back to the right track of mutually-beneficial cooperation, said Wang.
