China's Foreign Ministry on Monday blasted US plans to build an anti-missile defense system, reacting to a successful weekend test over the Pacific Ocean.

"It is not favorable to global strategic balance and stability," a Foreign Ministry spokesman told reporters.

"We urge the US side to fully consider the opinions and concerns of other countries and adopt prudent measures on this issue," he said.

Pentagon officials promised to press forward with plans for more tests of the system after an interceptor missile hit a dummy warhead over the Pacific Ocean precisely 42 seconds after 0309 GMT Sunday. The next one is scheduled for October.

The test took place at the same time as Chinese President Jiang Zemin was leaving Beijing for a state visit to Russia, another staunch opponent of the US anti-missile plans.

The test was criticized for its potential negative impact on "world peace and security."

"The test is a dangerous step, which is detrimental to global arms control," an editorial in China Daily said.

China has also criticized the US plan as a violation of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty.

"The United States insists on developing and deploying a missile defense system which is against the ABM Treaty," the Foreign Ministry spokesman told AFP.

"In the rush to deploy a missile defense system, all the risks -- undermining the ABM Treaty, sparking a new nuclear arms race, and straining US relations with its NATO allies -- would surface immediately," the editorial in China Daily said.

"The purported security benefits will not be realized for years, if at all," it warned.

(Chinadaily.com.cn 07/16/2001)