China never allows Japanese militarism to stage a comeback, National Defense Ministry spokesman Jiang Bin said at a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday.
Jiang made the remarks in response to media reports that Japan's defense budget is set to hit a record high of about 60 billion U.S. dollars for fiscal year 2026, along with plans to deploy improved missiles capable of reaching China's coastal areas.
"Japan has accelerated its military expansion and its growth has been far beyond the military capacity, including offensive weaponry, needed for exclusively defense-oriented purposes. This cannot help but arouse alert and concerns among peace-loving people around the world: what exactly is Japan up to? China has just held commemorations of the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. Eighty years ago, Japanese militarism launched a war of aggression that inflicted untold suffering on the people of Asian countries. Today, regional countries are more committed than ever to safeguarding peace and never allow Japanese militarism to stage a comeback. We urge Japan to reflect deeply on its history of aggression, earnestly respect the security concerns of its Asian neighbors and the international community, exercise caution in words and deeds in the military security field, and refrain from repeating the mistakes of the past," he said.
China never allows Japanese militarism to stage comeback: spokesman
China never allows Japanese militarism to stage comeback: spokesman
The European Commission's autumn 2025 economic forecast shows that driven by a surge in exports in anticipation of U.S. tariff increases, the European Union's (EU) economy maintained growth in the third quarter of this year, and it is expected to continue expanding at a moderate pace over the forecast horizon.
In the report released on Monday, the Commission said the gross domestic product (GDP) of the EU is expected to grow 1.4 percent in 2025, with the eurozone expanding 1.3 percent. Growth in 2026 is forecast at 1.4 percent for the EU and 1.2 percent for the eurozone, both slightly lower than projections made in May.
Eurozone headline inflation is projected to ease to 2.1 percent this year from 2.4 percent in 2024. Inflation across the EU is seen declining from 2.6 percent in 2024 to 2.2 percent in 2027, remaining slightly above the eurozone rate.
Due to the increase in defence spending, the EU's fiscal deficit is expected to rise to 3.4 percent of GDP in 2027 from 3.1 percent in 2024. The EU debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to rise from 84.5 percent in 2024 to 85 percent in 2027, with the eurozone ratio set to rise from around 88 percent to 90.4 percent.
The forecast noted that globally, trade barriers have reached historic highs, and the EU now faces higher average tariffs on exports to the U.S. compared with the spring forecast. Persistent trade policy uncertainty continues to weigh on economic activity, with tariffs and non-tariff restrictions potentially constraining EU growth more than expected. Any escalation in geopolitical tensions could intensify supply shocks, it noted.
EU expects economy to expand moderately
