China's urgent goal is to expand its arsenal of long-range nuclear missiles in anticipation of an "intense showdown" with the US, Chinese state media said.
In an opinion peice in Global Times, Hu Xijian, the editor of the media mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist government, said Beijing must be prepared for an intense showdown between China and the US.
"As the US strategic containment of China has increasingly intensified, I would like to remind again that we have plenty of urgent tasks, but among the most important ones is to rapidly increase the number of commissioned nuclear warheads, and the DF-41s, the strategic missiles that are capable to strike long-range and have high-survivability, in the Chinese arsenal. This is the cornerstone of China's strategic deterrence against the US," he wrote.
"The number of China's nuclear warheads must reach the quantity that makes US elites shiver should they entertain the idea of engaging in a military confrontation with China," he said in the opinion piece.
The comes at a time when tensions between the US and China have escalated over a slew of issues including Indo Pacific, coronavirus mishandling, Uyghurs genocide, Hong Kong.
"On this basis, we can calmly and actively manage divergences with Washington to avoid a minor incident sparking a war. US hostility toward China is burning. We must use our strength, and consequences that Washington cannot afford to bear if it takes risky moves, to keep them sober," Hu wrote, adding that Beijing must be ready for the "intense showdown," he further wrote.
Beijing is currently facing growing pressure from Washington and its allies over trade, investment and technologies such as 5G and semiconductor development.
The Biden administration is seeking to form a united front with its allies to rein in China, while criticising the country's human right record and renewing calls for probes into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, with China's leadership hitting back by urging the United States to abandon its "ideological biases".
( With inputs from ANI )
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