China on Thursday urged the United States to discard its Cold-War mentality and ideological bias, and work with China to move forward bilateral relations along the track of coordination, cooperation and stability.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the comment at a press briefing in response to remarks by US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, who said "China and Russia constitute our top strategic competitors," and that "we established a China Strategy Management Group and I directed the National Defense University to refocus its curriculum by dedicating 50 percent of the coursework to the PRC."

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"This US official's remarks and the 2018 National Defense Strategy he mentioned are fundamentally flawed and run counter to the trend of the times as they preach nothing but obsolete concepts of a Cold-War mentality, a zero-sum game mindset, and hyped-up strategic competition between major countries," Zhao said, reports Xinhua.

China's policy towards the US is consistent and clear, he said. "We are committed to working with the US side for non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation. At the same time, we are firmly committed to safeguarding China's sovereignty, security and development interests."