This archive report was first published on 23 December 2019.
On December 23, 2019, Beijing warned that the US was pursuing the weaponisation of outer space, following concerns that China and Russia are challenging its position in space.
US President Donald Trump signed the 2020 National Defense Authorisation Act on Friday, creating a new branch of the US military called the Space Force.
The Space Force will be the sixth formal force of the US military, after the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard.
"These actions from the US strongly violate the international consensus of the peaceful use of outer space... posing a direct threat to outer space, peace, and security," said foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang at a regular press briefing.
China has been making significant investments in space in recent years, pouring billions into its military-run space programme, with hopes of having a crewed space station by 2022.
"Going to be a lot of things happening in space, because space is the world's newest warfighting domain," Trump told members of the military gathered for the signing.
