China launches broadside at US 'double standards, hegemonism' after criticism over missile test

Beijing says the launch was routine military training exercise and not aimed at any specific country or target

China on Thursday called the US criticism of its latest nuclear-capable ballistic missile test as a "typical" example of Washington's "double standards and hegemonism."

"The US is the only country to have actually used nuclear weapons. It sits on the world’s largest and most advanced nuclear arsenal and launches strategic missiles from nuclear-powered submarines annually.

"Yet it points fingers at China’s routine missile launch—a typical example of double standards and hegemonism," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters in Beijing.

China said on Monday it had successfully conducted the test launch of a strategic missile from a nuclear submarine, hours after Beijing notified several Pacific nations of the planned test.

The launch marks China's second strategic missile test since it fired an intercontinental ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean in September 2024, the first such test since 1980.

Criticising the test, Washington said that Beijing’s "rapid and opaque" nuclear weapons buildup is of "great" concern to the region and the world.

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It urged China to engage in meaningful arms control discussions and commit to a regularised notification arrangement for all intercontinental-range ballistic missile and space launches consistent with commitments made by all other P5 members.

Mao reiterated that test launch was a "routine" arrangement in China’s annual military training program designed to verify the reliability, safety and effectiveness of relevant weapon systems.

"The US needs to view the development of China’s national defence and military in an objective and rational light and earnestly uphold global strategic stability", she further said, insisting that the launch complies with international law and customary international practice and is not directed at any specific country or target.