Xi Jinping's Mouthpiece Blasts Joe Biden's New Nuclear Strategy: 'Finding Excuses To Seek Strategic Advantages'

Xi Jinping’s mouthpiece, the Chinese state media, and the foreign ministry have expressed criticism over the U.S.’s revised nuclear strategy under President Joe Biden, which appears to be primarily focused on China’s growing nuclear capabilities.

What Happened: President Biden has shifted the U.S.’ nuclear strategic plan in March, with a particular emphasis on China’s rapidly expanding nuclear arsenal. The Global Times, a Beijing government media outlet, stated that China has “become the best excuse” for the U.S. to maintain a large nuclear arsenal in the post-Cold War era, CNBC reported on Thursday.

The Global Times editor further stated, “Instead of smearing and hyping up China, the U.S. should reflect on itself and consider how to rebuild mutual trust with China through dialogue and sincerity.”

China’s foreign ministry echoed this sentiment, accusing the U.S. of pushing “the China nuclear threat narrative, finding excuses to seek strategic advantage.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning stated, “We have no intention to engage in any form of arms race with other countries.”

This statement comes in the wake of reports that Biden’s approval of the plan, named “Nuclear Employment Guidance,” was driven by concerns from the Pentagon that China’s stockpiles will rival the “size and diversity of the United States’ and Russia’s over the next decade.”

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Why It Matters: The U.S. and China have repeatedly clashed over their nuclear ambitions. The Pentagon reported last year that China’s nuclear inventory is expected to grow to more than 1,000 by 2030, and as of May 2023, China possessed over 500 operational nuclear warheads, exceeding previous projections.

In June, China had urged the U.S. to reconsider its nuclear stance following comments from a senior U.S. official about potentially increasing warheads.

In July, China also suspended talks with the U.S. on arms control and nuclear proliferation in response to the U.S.' continued arms sales to Taiwan.

Stephen Roach, senior fellow at Yale Law School and former chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia, warned about the increasing vilification of China, cautioning that this could lead to disastrous consequences.

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This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Pooja Rajkumari