US Secretary of Defense Mark Esber said that Washington does not seek confrontation with China, but it must stop its negative practices, while talking about the challenges facing his country on the level of foreign fronts.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Esber called on the international community to be deeply concerned by China's development of artificial intelligence.
He added that the main security challenge of the United States has changed and is no longer Russia, but rather China.
For his part, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a speech to the Munich Security Conference in Germany that the Chinese Communist Party posed a huge threat to the West.
Pompeo added in his speech - excerpts of which were quoted by Bloomberg News on Saturday - that "it is not acceptable" to allow Chinese networks to practice piracy.
He refused that his country had withdrawn from the international scene, saying that the West was winning against its opponents.
He stressed Washington's support for NATO, and said that talk of the death of this alliance is exaggerated.
Pompeo also reiterated his country's support for eastern European countries, noting that Washington would invest about a billion dollars in the energy sector in that region to reduce their dependence on Russian gas.
Lies and slanders
In response to the statements of the two US ministers, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that the US accusations against China are lies and slanders.
The Chinese minister said his country wants to build friendly relations with the United States based on mutual respect.
He added that China will strengthen its cooperation with Russia, and it should work with Washington to keep their relations on the right track.