BEIJING - China Monday accused the United States of exaggerating its military strength, saying the U.S. report is a wanton interference in its internal affairs.

The strongly-worded statement was in response to the U.S. Pentagon's annual report to Congress last week on China's military buildup.

The Pentagon had reportedly said China is "engaged in a sustained effort to interdict, at long ranges, aircraft carrier and expeditionary strike groups that might deploy to the western Pacific," and that China's development of nuclear and conventional weapons could pose credible threats to modern militaries operating in the region.

"The report exaggerates China's military strength and expenditure with ulterior motives," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said, the official Xinhua reported. "It disseminates the 'China threat' theory, severely violates norms of international relations and wantonly interferes with China's internal affairs."

Jiang said the international community "has a fair judgment that China is an important force in promoting peace in the Asia-Pacific and the world."

She also said "Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory and China firmly opposes any country that interferes in its internal affairs through any means."

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