China pursues a national defense policy which is "defensive in nature," says a white paper on the country's national defense on Thursday.

The pursuit of such a national defense policy is determined by China's development path, its fundamental aims, its foreign policy, and its historical and cultural traditions, says the white paper, issued by the Information Office of the State Council.

"China will never seek hegemony, nor will it adopt the approach of military expansion now or in the future, no matter how its economy develops," the white paper says.

China unswervingly takes the road of peaceful development, strives to build a harmonious socialist society internally, and promotes the building of a harmonious world enjoying lasting peace and common prosperity externally, it says.

China unswervingly advances its reform and opening up as well as socialist modernization, making use of the peaceful international environment for its own development which in return will contribute to world peace, it says.

The country unswervingly pursues an independent foreign policy of peace and promotes friendly cooperation with all countries on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, the white paper says.

China unswervingly maintains its fine cultural traditions and its belief in valuing peace above all else, advocating the settlement of disputes through peaceful means, prudence on the issue of war, and the strategy of "attacking only after being attacked," it says.

According to the report, the armed forces of China undertake the sacred duty of resisting foreign aggression, defending the motherland, and safeguarding overall social stability and the peaceful labor of its people.

To build a fortified national defense and strong armed forces compatible with national security and development interests is a strategic task of China's modernization, and a common cause of the people of all ethnic groups, it says.