The 2018 US National Defence Strategy (NDS) released on Friday called the two countries “revisionist powers” that sought to shape the world in their authoritarian image and erode American influence, language similar to the US National Security Strategy put out last month.
China is also referred to as “a strategic competitor using
predatory economics to intimidate its neighbours while militarising
features in the South China Sea”, a characterisation that drew a
backlash from Chinese officials.
A spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington told Xinhua
news agency that China seeks global partnerships rather than global
hegemony, and used a Chinese phrase that meant one’s mentality
determines how one sees the world.
“Peace and development are the themes of this era, and are
also the shared aspirations of mankind,” the spokesman told reporters on
Friday evening.
“However, if some people look at the world through a Cold War,
zero-sum game mindset, then they are destined to see only conflict and
confrontation."
In unveiling the NDS – the first new document of its kind in a
decade – Defence Secretary James Mattis said the US is simply
recognising reality, and that “this is not a strategy of confrontation,
but it is strategy that recognises the reality of competition”.