Military alliance urged to uphold peace

NATO is being "extremely hypocritical" by making unfounded accusations against China's nuclear capabilities, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Wednesday, urging the bloc to take concrete measures to maintain world and regional peace.

Wang was commenting on a recent NATO communique that accused China of "rapidly expanding and diversifying its nuclear arsenal". The military alliance also urged China to "promote stability through greater transparency".

Owning the most powerful and largest number of nuclear weapons, NATO is making irresponsible claims about China's "nuclear threat", which China is "seriously concerned by and firmly opposed to", Wang said at a regular news conference.

"China has always adopted an extremely cautious and responsible stand over the issue of nuclear weapons," said Wang, adding that the country is always firmly committed to a defensive nuclear strategy.

China always keeps its nuclear capabilities at the minimum level required by national security, and does not intend to engage in a nuclear arms race, he said.

Instead, the international community has more reason to be concerned by NATO's "nuclear sharing" arrangement, which allowed the military alliance to own the largest nuclear arsenal in the world.

"Individual NATO member countries are stepping up the modernization of their nuclear capabilities and strengthening the so-called extended deterrence, which exacerbates the risks of nuclear proliferation and conflict," he said.

Wang also urged NATO member states to take real action to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in their national and collective security policies and promote strategic stability.