The US Department of Defense recently released the report on Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China. Such a report published annually compiles publicly available information and dubious media reports with misleading rhetoric to distort China's defense policies and military strategies, hyping up the nonexistent "Chinese military threat." The underlying motive is rooted in the long-standing hegemonic mindset held by Washington.
美国国防部近期发布2023年度《中国军事与安全发展报告》，也就是“中国军力报告”。美国国防部每年发布这样一份报告，基本上就是把一些公开信息、包括来源不明的媒体报道拼凑在一起，运用似是而非的话术，歪曲解读中国国防政策和军事战略，渲染炒作并不存在的“中国军事威胁”，其背后的动机，就是美国长期以来持有的霸权思想。
In fact, the US itself poses a military threat to other countries, especially to China.
殊不知，美国才是对别国尤其是对中国构成军事威胁的国家。
In recent years, US military warships and aircraft have frequently approached the sea and airspace around China, engaging in prolonged, wide-ranging, and high-frequency reconnaissance and harassment. According to statistics, in just the year 2023, US reconnaissance aircraft made more than 2,000 close approaches, and US warships violated China's territorial waters near the Xisha Islands on two occasions, and crossed the Taiwan Strait five times, all the while openly engaging in provocative actions against China. From this perspective, it is only logical for China to publish a report on US military power. Moreover, it is common knowledge that the US defense budget for the fiscal year 2023 exceeded US$800 billion, surpassing the total military spending of the next 16 countries combined after the US. In such a context, the absurdity and ridiculousness of the US once again hyping up the so-called "military threats" posed by other countries are blatantly evident.
近年来，美军舰机不远万里经常到中国周边海空域，进行长时间、大范围、高频度的侦察滋扰。据统计，仅2023年，美军侦察机就有2000余架次抵近活动，美舰2艘次冲闯我西沙领海，5艘次过航台湾海峡，并进行公开炒作，蓄意对华示强挑衅。从这个角度看，由中国发布美国军力报告才更符合逻辑。同时，大家都知道，美国2023财年的国防预算已经高达8000多亿美元，是排名美国之后的16个国家军费开支总和。在这种情况下，美国再次炒作其他国家的所谓“军事威胁”，从逻辑上看，非常荒谬可笑。
Specifically, regarding this year's Report, it boasts two major highlights. One is the claim that "China possessed more than has over 500 operational nuclear warheads." Firstly, this number does not align with the facts; it's an exaggeration. Secondly, when accusing China, why doesn't the US publicly disclose the fact that it possesses over 5,000 nuclear warheads? In recent years, the US has been enhancing its strategic nuclear capabilities with its "triad" strategy. For instance, its strategic bombers are gradually being replaced by B-21s; strategic nuclear submarines will be substituted by Columbia-class submarines instead of the outdated Ohio-class ones; on the land-based front, the previous Minuteman missiles will be replaced by Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missiles. China's current nuclear capabilities are less than one-tenth of those of the US, yet the US deliberately exaggerates the so-called nuclear threat from China, which is utterly laughable.
具体到今年发布的这份所谓“中国军力报告”的内容，其中最大的噱头有两个。一个是宣称“中国已经拥有超过500枚可用于作战的核弹头”。首先，这个数字并不符合事实，有所夸大。其次，美国在指责中国时为什么不对外公布一下美国自身有5000多个核弹头的事实呢？近年来，美国不断推进强化其“三位一体”的战略核打击能力。比如，它的战略轰炸机将逐步更新为B-21；战略核潜艇要用哥伦比亚级取代老旧的俄亥俄级；在陆基方面，以前的“民兵”导弹将逐步更新为“哨兵”洲际弹道导弹。中国现在的核力量还不及美国的1/10，它却蓄意炒作中国的所谓“核威胁”，这简直可笑至极。
Another sensational point in this report is the contradiction where the US, on the one hand, propagates the so-called "Chinese military threat," tarnishing China's image, and on the other hand, eagerly hopes to improve relations with China. However, it is essential to note that the US has predetermined conditions for improving its relationship with China. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has stated that the US wishes to ease its military relations with China but with three preconditions. First, China must halt the development of high-end weaponry, drastically reduce the number of nuclear weapons, and hand over any ongoing high-end weapon development to the US or other "third-party countries" for disposal. Second, China's military forces must be reduced by more than half, retaining only conventional forces. Third, China must cease cooperation with Russia and join the ranks of countries imposing sanctions on Russia.
这份报告的另一个噱头是，美国一方面在鼓吹所谓“中国军事威胁论”，抹黑中国，另一方面又热切地希望与中国改善关系。但是这里有一点应该看到，对改善与中国的关系，美国是预设了前提的。美国防部长奥斯汀就说过，美国现在希望缓和与中国的军事关系，但是有三个前提条件。第一、中国要停止研发高端武器，大规模削减核武器数量，将正在研发的高端武器交由美国或其它“第三方国家”销毁；第二、中国军队必须裁军一半以上，只能保留常规部队；第三、禁止中国与俄罗斯开展合作，并加入对俄制裁行列。
The reason why China invests in advanced weaponry is that the US has posed a sustained and substantial threat to China's security, it not only has been interfering in China's reunification efforts but also conducting intensive patrols, reconnaissance, and provocative actions around China. In this context, China has to develop a military force capable of fully safeguarding national security and protecting its interests.
中国为什么要研发先进武器？是因为美国对中国的安全构成了持续且巨大的威胁，美国不仅要干涉中国的统一，还在中国周边开展密集的巡逻、侦察和挑衅性行动。在这种情况下，中国必须建设能够充分维护国家安全的军事力量，维护国家利益。
While the US attempts to fabricate a military threat from China, engaging in malicious speculations and smearing campaigns, the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation was successfully held in Beijing. The Belt and Road Initiative, which advocates dialogue over confrontation, tearing down walls instead of building them, integration instead of decoupling, and inclusivity instead of exclusivity, has gained increasing recognition and responses from numerous countries over the past decade. This trend has made the US realize that the current international landscape no longer aligns with its ideal vision of unilateral dominance. Developing countries are increasingly seizing development opportunities, and the focus of global development is shifting towards the Asia-Pacific region. This shift has left the country feeling deeply disillusioned, attributing this change to China's remarkable rise and constantly suspecting that China intends to alter the world order.
在美国妄图通过所谓“中国军力报告”杜撰中国军事威胁、极力恶意揣测和抹黑之时，第三届“一带一路”国际合作高峰论坛在北京举行并取得圆满成功。“一带一路”中国倡议坚持对话而不对抗、拆墙而不筑墙、融合而不脱钩、包容而不排他。倡议提出十年来，获得越来越多国家的认可和响应。这使得美国看到，当今的国际形势已然不是自己所希望的一超独霸的理想状态。现在，发展中国家越来越多地获得发展机遇，全球的发展重心正在向西太平洋地区转移，这一点让美国感受到很大失落，将这种状态的出现归咎于中国的异军突起，总觉得中国要改变世界秩序。
China does not hold such beliefs. Chinese philosophy emphasizes win-win cooperation, the coexistence of diverse social systems, mutual learning, and mutual inspiration. On the contrary, the US tends to unilateralism, believing in its exceptionalism. It sees itself as the beacon of democracy in the world and insists on its way as the sole development path for everyone. This viewpoint is reflected in the ideas presented by American political scientist Francis Yoshihiro Fukuyama in his 1992 book The End of History and the Last Man, where he suggests that Western liberal democracy might represent the "end point of mankind's ideological evolution" and the "final form of human government."
实际上，中国并不是这种想法。中国人讲究的是共赢，是所有社会制度并存，彼此之间要相互学习，相互借鉴。而美国唯我独尊惯了，它没有并存的概念，它认为世界上只能有一座“民主灯塔”，而这座灯塔就是美国。世界只能有一种发展方式，而这个方式就是美国方式。正如美国政治学者弗朗西斯•福山在其1992年出版的《历史的终结》一书中提出的，“西方自由民主制度可能是‘人类社会演化的终点’和‘人类政府的最高级形式’”。
However, over the past 30 years, the US has realized that history did not come to an end. China has charted a completely new development path, namely, the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Chinese people firmly believe that a country must not only possess strong economic development capabilities but also defend its own security effectively.
可是，30年的时间过去了，美国发现历史并没有终结，中国走出了一条全新的发展道路，这就是中国特色社会主义道路。中国人坚信一个国家不但要有强大的经济发展能力，还要有强大的捍卫自身安全的能力。
Therefore, the yearly production of the "China Military Power Report" is simply a reflection of Uncle Sam's unwillingness to relinquish hegemony, stemming from its reluctance to witness a fair global development trend, nothing more.
所以，美国年复一年炮制“中国军力报告”，其实是美国不愿意丢掉霸权，不想看到世界出现公平发展态势的极端反应而已。
Editor's note: Originally published on military.cnr.cn, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.
