China hits back at US 'cold war, zero-sum game mindset'

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Chinese Embassy in the US on Friday called on the US to give up looking at the world "through a cold war, zero-sum game mindset," responding to the newly released US National Defense Strategy.

"There is a saying in China: One's mentality will determine how they see the world. If someone is always wearing dark glasses, they will never see a bright world," said the spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in the US.

Earlier on Friday, US Defense Secretary James Mattis said the US is facing "growing threats from revisionist powers as different as China and Russia," as he unveiled the new National Defense Strategy Report. He said China and Russia seek to reform and challenge the international order led by the US and its allies.

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis speaks about the National Defense Review in Washington, DC, Jan. 19, 2018. /AP Photo

"China has always been committed and constructive in the pursuit of world peace, global development, and the maintenance of the international order," the Chinese spokesperson said. "We see a win-win strategy of 'opening-up' in our relations with all nations. What China seeks in the world is global partnership, not global dominance."

The new national defense strategy follows the tone of Trump's National Security Strategy, which accused China of seeking to "displace the US in the Indo-Pacific region, expand the reach of its state-driven economic model and reorder the region in its favor," a stark deviation from that of his predecessor Barack Obama, who named China as a "strategic partner."

"We hope that the United States can align itself with the trend of the world and the will of the people, and put the world and China-US relations into the perspective of cooperation. We hope the United States will join hands with China to uphold the sound and steady growth of China-US relations," the spokesperson said.