China has issued a sharp rebuke following the release of an explosive Pentagon report which claims that Beijing is deliberately manipulating its border relations with India to undermine New Delhi's strategic partnership with the United States.
During a press briefing in Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian dismissed the findings as politically motivated propaganda. He argued that the document seeks to justify American military dominance while distorting China’s actual defence policies. Defence Ministry spokesman Zhang Xiaogang echoed these sentiments, accusing Washington of harbouring "geopolitical biases" and annually fabricating the "China threat" narrative to mislead the global community.
The controversy stems from a report presented to the U.S. Congress earlier this week, which alleges that China is leveraging the recent easing of tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to stall closer U.S.-India cooperation.
The Pentagon highlighted the landmark meeting between President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the October 2024 BRICS Summit as a key turning point. Since that meeting, both nations have engaged in high-level discussions regarding border management, direct flights, and visa facilitation.
However, the U.S. maintains that these diplomatic overtures are a calculated move by Beijing to stabilise its southern front while it focuses on broader regional ambitions.
According to the U.S. document, Beijing has expanded its "core interests" to include India's Arunachal Pradesh, referred to by China as "Zangnan" alongside Taiwan and the South China Sea. This expansion of territorial claims is viewed by Washington as a central pillar of China’s vision for "national rejuvenation."
Furthermore, the report expresses concern over deepening defence ties between Beijing and Islamabad. It notes that by mid-2025, China had delivered 20 of 36 contracted J-10C fighter jets to Pakistan. The Pentagon also alleged that the two nations coordinated "grey-zone" tactics, such as the "Operation Sindoor" cyber and intelligence sharing initiative in May 2025, to exert pressure on India without triggering a full-scale war.
In response to these specific allegations, Lin Jian emphasised that Beijing views its relationship with New Delhi from a "strategic and long-term perspective" and remains committed to managing differences responsibly. He described the current border situation as "generally stable" and rejected any outside interference from the United States as groundless.
As of late December 2025, communication channels between the two Asian giants remain open, though the Pentagon’s intervention suggests that the burgeoning relationship between India, China, and the United States remains one of the most volatile diplomatic triangles in modern geopolitics.