China raps US for ‘Cold War mentality’ in defence strategy

Ready to go: Mattis waiting to speak about the National Defence Review at an event in Washington. — AP

Beijing: China has denounced the United States government for what it calls its “Cold War and zero-sum mentality” in its latest national defence strategy, which named China and Russia as “revisionist powers” that “seek to create a world consistent with their authoritarian models”.

In presenting the new strategy, defence secretary James Mattis said: “We will continue to prosecute the campaign against terrorists that we are engaged in today, but great power competition, not terrorism, is now the primary focus of US national security.”