BEIJING - China strongly deplores and firmly opposes the negative remarks related to China made by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, at the 22nd edition of the Shangri-La Dialogue, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Saturday.

The spokesperson said Hegseth deliberately ignored the call for peace and development by countries in the region, and instead touted the Cold War mentality for bloc confrontation, vilified China with defamatory allegations, and falsely called China a "threat."

"The remarks were filled with provocations and intended to sow division. China deplores and firmly opposes them and has protested strongly to the United States," said the spokesperson.

The spokesperson said that no country in the world deserves to be called a hegemonic power other than the United States itself, who is also the primary factor undermining the peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific. To perpetuate its hegemony and advance the so-called "Indo-Pacific strategy," the United States has deployed offensive weaponry in the South China Sea and kept stoking flames and creating tensions in the Asia-Pacific, which are turning the region into a powder keg and making countries in the region deeply concerned.

Noting that the Taiwan question is entirely China's internal affair, the spokesperson said no country is in a position to interfere. "The United States should never imagine it could use the Taiwan question as leverage against China. The United States must never play with fire on this question. China urges the United States to fully abide by the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques, and stop supporting and emboldening the 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces," the spokesperson said.

"On the South China Sea, there has never been any problem with regard to freedom of navigation and overflight there," the spokesperson said, adding China has always been committed to working with countries concerned to properly handle differences through dialogue and consultation, while safeguarding China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in accordance with laws and regulations. "It is the United States who is the primary factor that is hurting the peace and stability in the South China Sea," said the spokesperson.

China urges the United States to fully respect the efforts of countries in the region to maintain peace and stability, stop deliberately destroying the peaceful and stable environment cherished by the region, and stop inciting conflict and confrontation and escalating tensions in the region, the spokesperson said.