Recently, the Pentagon and the Capitol Hill started to strike up again the banal tune of "China threat", one echoing the other, and are continuously sending out wrong signals to Taiwan, in the US and even to the world.

A few days ago, the Pentagon released the "Annual Report on the Military Power of the People's Republic of China". And moreover, its officials, by giving evidences for several times on the hearings held by the Congress, exaggerated intentionally China's military power, distorting China's reasonable construction of national defense as a "military threat to Taiwan and the USA".

The "Annual Report on the Military Power of the People's Republic of China" of the Pentagon stated that in recent years China is expanding its "aggressive armaments" in a planned way and the PLA is developing new weapons.

At the end of last month on the hearing of "China's military modernization", a high-ranking official of the US Department of Defense declared that in recent years China has been making great efforts in developing its military strength for long-distance operations and space flight technology for military reconnaissance and space operation, indicating that China is determined to "go against the US" in all fields.

Not long ago American people heard that the US-China witnessed the best of their relations in recent years. How could China be turned into the "biggest threat" in a twinkle of an eye? Why do some people of the Pentagon and the State Department want to send such a wrong signal out to the American people?

Firstly, it's the cold war thinking that is haunting in their minds, and so the dross theory of "imaginary enemy" is floating up again.

Secondly, some people want to find some pretext for their selling weapons to Taiwan. Not long ago, on a hearing of the State Department somebody asserted that China's military purchase from foreign armies topped the world, and saying that as China bought in new weaponry it has added new danger to the military clash in the Taiwan Straits.

Under the cover of the hues and dins, the Pentagon, immediately after selling to Taiwan the early-warning radar system valued at US$1.8 billion at the beginning of April, announced again it is going to launch for Taiwan a satellite that can be used for military purposes. On the same day when the US "Annual Report on the Military Power of the People's Republic of China" was released the Taiwan authority made a decision that it is going to buy in from the USA eight traditional diesel-driven submarines at a value of US$8.93 billion. In the meanwhile the US still wants again and again to raise the military exchange level between the US and Taiwan.

Thirdly, the US continues to contain China, trying to stop the EU to lift the ban on arms sales to China. Recently, on a transaction of Czech's selling to China a set of radar system the US made an open and sabotaging hindrance in it. In order to compensate the loss Czech entailed the US bought from Czech the set of radar system of its own accord.

Fourthly, it is to couple the military affairs up with economy and trade, thereby undermining the economic and trade cooperation between China and the US. A senator named Taylor said, to a great extent, China is using the favorable trade balance with the US to raise its military modernization. He even said, it's wrong for the US to grant a normal trade relation to China.

From here we can see that why some Americans chose such a moment to peddle again the "China threat" theory? We must say, it's a thorough exposure of their ulterior motives and morbid mentality.

The Sino-US relations that have undergone ups and downs have now come to a relatively steady development as seen today. However, the absurd argument meant deliberately to sabotage the normal development of the Sino-US relations is not only wrong but also quite dangerous.

(People's Daily June 9, 2004)