China said on Wednesday the United States was just looking for excuses to pump taxpayers' money into its military, after U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter named China as a reason for seeking a $582.7 billion defense budget next year.
Carter said the funding request was in line with last year's congressional budget deal, with a clear focus on five big challenges facing the U.S. military: Russia, China, North Korea, Iran and Islamic State.
He said the budget plan focused on higher-end weapons spending to maintain the U.S. military's competitive edge over countries like Russia and China, which are expanding their militaries.