China said Thursday that its goals and tasks for national defense include safeguarding national sovereignty, maintaining social harmony and stability, promoting the modernization of national defense and keeping world peace.

China's national defense is tasked to guard against and resist aggression, defend the security of China's lands, inland waters, territorial waters and airspace, safeguard its maritime rights and interests, and maintain its security interests in space, electromagnetic space and cyber space, says a white paper, issued by the Information Office of the State Council Thursday.

The country's national defense is also tasked to oppose and contain the separatist forces for "Taiwan independence," crack down on separatist forces for "East Turkistan independence" and "Tibet independence," and defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity, the white paper says.

China consistently upholds the policy of no first use of nuclear weapons, adheres to a self-defensive nuclear strategy, and will never enter into a nuclear arms race with any other country, says the white paper.

Exercising to the full their advantageous conditions in human resources, equipment, technology and infrastructure, the Chinese armed forces contribute to the building of civilian infrastructure and other engineering construction projects, to poverty-alleviation initiatives, to improvements in people's livelihood, and to ecological and environmental conservation, says the white paper.

The armed forces resolutely undertake urgent, difficult, dangerous, and arduous tasks of emergency rescue and disaster relief, thereby securing lives and property of the people.

Taking the maintenance of overall social stability as a critical task, the armed forces resolutely subdue all subversive and sabotage activities by hostile forces, as well as violent and terrorist activities.

"Bearing in mind the primary goal of accomplishing mechanization and attaining major progress in informationization by 2020, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) perseveres with mechanization as the foundation and informationization as the driving force, making extensive use of its achievements in information technology, and stepping up the composite and integrated development of mechanization and informationization," says the white paper.

The PLA has expanded and made profound preparations for military struggle, which serve as both pull and impetus to the overall development of modernization.

The PLA intensifies theoretical studies on joint operations under conditions of informationization, advances the development of high-tech weaponry and equipment, develops new types of combat forces, strives to establish joint operation systems in conditions of informationization, says the white paper.

China consistently upholds the new security concepts of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality and coordination, advocates the settlement of international disputes and regional flashpoint issues through peaceful means, opposes resort to the use or threat to use of force at will, opposes acts of aggression and expansion, and opposes hegemony and power politics in any form, says the white paper.

China adheres to the concepts of openness, pragmatism and cooperation, expands its participation in international security cooperation, strengthens strategic coordination and consultation with major powers and neighboring countries, enhances military exchanges and cooperation with developing countries, and takes part in UN peace-keeping operations, maritime escort, international counter-terrorism cooperation, and disaster relief operations.

In line with the principles of being just, reasonable, comprehensive and balanced, China stands for effective disarmament and arms control, and endeavors to maintain global strategic stability, says the white paper.