BEIJING - A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson on Thursday slammed a paper that listed "ten tasks" for the United States to accomplish to deal with China's rise, calling it another collection of lies piled up by the those "living fossils of the Cold War" from the US State Department.

Spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks at a press briefing when asked to comment on the paper, which was released by the US State Department's Office of Policy Planning.

Spokesperson Zhao Lijian also said some Americans habitually hype up the so-called "China threat" because they need excuses for their expanding military prowess and budget

It only serves to lay bare the entrenched Cold War mindset and ideological prejudice of some people on the US side and their fear, anxiety and unhealthy mentality towards a growing China, the spokesperson said.

Their vile attempts to bring back the Cold War will be mercilessly rejected by the Chinese people and all peace-lovers around the world, Zhao said. "They and their doomed attempts will end up in nowhere but the dustbin of history."

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US Navy Secretary Kenneth Braithwaite has reportedly called on the US Navy to establish a new fleet at the intersection of the Indian and Pacific Oceans to deal with China's growing geopolitical ambitions.

In response to Braithwaite's remarks, Zhao said the United States, with the largest military expenditure and having set up military bases all over the world, had only 16 years of being not at war over its 240-plus years of history.

"But now the US frequently claims being threatened by others. What an absurd logic!" Zhao said.

He said China is committed to the path of peaceful development.

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China is and will always be a builder of world peace, contributor to global development and guardian of international order. "China's development is an opportunity, not a threat, as it will add to the world's strength for peace," he said.

He urged the United States to abandon its Cold War and zero-sum game mindset, view China's development objectively and rationally, and play a constructive role for peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region.