Pompeo's fact-twisting China speech versus the truth

22. Mike Pompeo: China's military grows stronger and more menacing.

False.

Fact check: China is a socialist country with a strategic choice to follow the path of peaceful development, an independent foreign policy of peace, and a cultural tradition of "valuing peace as the most precious". All this made China unswervingly pursue a national defense policy that is defensive in nature.

-- The development of China's national defense is necessary to safeguard its own sovereignty, security and development interests, to defend its unity and territorial integrity, and to maintain international and regional peace and security.

-- The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) has always actively fulfilled the international responsibilities as the military of a major country, and promoted the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind with real action. It has made all-out efforts to advance international military cooperation in the new era, provide more public security goods to the international community, and contribute to building a better world of lasting peace and universal security. Since 1990, the Chinese military has participated in 26 UN peacekeeping operations and sent more than 40,000 peacekeeping military personnel, making it the largest troop contributor to UN peacekeeping missions among the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. Over the past 30 years, groups of Chinese peacekeepers have braved difficulties and dangers, bringing peace and hope to the conflict areas and the local people. This year, all 410 officers and soldiers of the 18th batch of Chinese peacekeepers at the UN Interim Force in Lebanon were awarded the UN Peace Medal of Honor, and more than 100 officers and soldiers of the 23rd batch of Chinese peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) were awarded by the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO).

-- During the COVID-19 outbreak, the PLA actively carried out international cooperation against the epidemic with defense departments and militaries of many countries, contributing to the international public health security and a global community of health for all. During the outbreak, the PLA has sent military anti-epidemic expert groups to four countries including Laos and Cambodia. It has provided epidemic prevention material assistance to defense departments and armies of more than 20 countries such as Pakistan, Russia and Thailand through air force transportation and other means. It has held video conferences with defense departments and armies of 10 countries such as Russia and South Africa to exchange epidemic prevention and control experience.

-- Unilateralism by the US undermines international order and its bullying behavior challenges norms governing international relations, posing the greatest threat to the world peace and stability. According to public information, the US military budget for 2019 topped 716 billion US dollars, accounting for over 40 percent of the world's total military expenditure and equivalent to the total of the nine countries following it. The US defense budget accounted for 3.5 percent of its GDP in 2019, while China's annual defense expenditure accounted for less than 2 percent of its GDP in the past 30 years, which is lower than not only the world's major countries, but also the world average of 2.6 percent. China's per capita military spending is even lower, only accounting for one twenty-second of America's, one ninth of Britain's and one fifth of Japan's.

-- With hundreds of military bases around the world, the US has been war-free for only 16 of its 240-plus years of history. The US has imposed "regime change", instigated "color revolutions" and exerted maximum pressure, causing regional turmoil and people's suffering. Since 2001, the US has illegally launched wars and military operations against Iraq, Libya, Syria, Afghanistan and other countries, which cost more than 6.4 trillion US dollars and resulted in more than 800,000 deaths and tens of millions displaced.