FM spokesman: China intends no harm to neighbors

China will do no harm to its neighbors, but will instead seek common prosperity in the region through cooperation, said a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Thursday at a regular press conference.

In response to a question about a report released by a Japanese advisory panel describing China as a military threat, Kong said the report represents a minority viewpoint and will not be supported by most Japanese people.

The Nihon Keizai newspaper reported on Wednesday that a 10-member private advisory panel to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi called China "a military threat" in a defence review to be compiled by the end of September.

China's national defense budget last year stood at about 21.5 billion US dollars, while Japan's was more than 60 billion, Kong said.

China has reiterated many times that it pursues a policy of "treating its neighbors as friends and partners," he said. "Under no circumstances will China harm the interest of any neighboring countries."

Kong said healthy and mutually beneficial Sino-Japanese relations would be beneficial to the two peoples and conducive to regional peace and stability.