BEIJING, Oct. 31 -- "On the nuclear issue, the US has long been holding a "flashlight" only to check on the behaviors of others but not itself," said Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, at a press conference on Thursday.

The spokesperson made the remarks when responding to the US's speculative hype of China's nuclear force. It is reported that the latest review of the US Defense Intelligence Agency said that China was accelerating and expanding nuclear arsenal of its Army, Navy and Air Force. According to statistics from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), global nuclear arms race is intensifying. As of January 2024, the total number of global nuclear warheads has amounted to 12,121.

"The US has been deliberately hyping up the non-existent 'China nuclear threat', only to cover up its malicious agenda of maintaining hegemony," said the spokesperson, pointing out that the US, with the largest nuclear arsenal in the world, pursues a nuclear policy of first use of nuclear weapons, conducts nuclear intimidation and blackmail on others, and plays with fire by seeking nuclear proliferation, which seriously undermines global strategic security and stability.

The spokesperson further noted that China pursues a self-defensive nuclear strategy, and is committed to a nuclear policy of no first use of nuclear weapons at any time and under any circumstances. China keeps its nuclear force at the minimum level required for national security and has no intention to engage in arms race with any country.

"What the US needs to do is not to make groundless accusations on others but to introspect its fault and correct its wrong doings," said the spokesperson, adding that  the US should earnestly assume its special and primary responsibilities toward nuclear disarmament, and take concrete actions to reduce global strategic security risks.