Beijing is strongly concerned and protests over the reference to China in NATO documents as a challenge to the alliance, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said this at a briefing Thursday in response to a TASS request to comment on NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg's reference to China as a challenge to the alliance.

Stoltenberg made that assessment Wednesday at a news conference following a meeting of the alliance's defense ministers in Brussels.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry official said NATO is denigrating China's foreign policy, making irresponsible remarks about China's military development and provoking confrontation.

China is a good opportunity for peaceful global development, not some systemic challenge made up by NATO, Wang Wenbin said. He noted that the alliance, which positions itself as a regional defense organization, continues to break into new regions, foment conflicts everywhere and create tensions.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday after a meeting of the alliance's defense ministers in Brussels that the bloc's defense chiefs had agreed on new NATO defense planning guidelines that take into account the challenges posed by China.