Rising space power China today attacked the newly created U.S. Space Force, labeling it a 'direct threat to outer space peace and security'.

Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters that China is 'deeply concerned about it and resolutely opposed to it'.

'The relevant U.S. actions are a serious violation of the international consensus on the peaceful use of outer space, undermine global strategic balance and stability, and pose a direct threat to outer space peace and security,' Geng said at a regular briefing.

U.S. President Donald Trump is photographed signing a $738billion defense spending bill that officially ushers in his Space Force on Friday at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. China has said that it is 'deeply concerned about' and 'resolutely opposed to' the U.S. Space Force

China's space program has advanced rapidly since its first crewed mission in 2003.

In a report last February, the Pentagon asserted that China and Russia have embarked on major efforts to develop technologies that could allow them to disrupt or destroy American and allied satellites in a crisis or conflict.

China in 2007 conducted an unannounced missile strike against one of its own defunct satellites, creating an enormous amount of space debris.

Geng dismissed such concerns, calling them 'unfounded counter charges' that merely provided the U.S. with a justification for its own actions. China, he said, has consistently opposed the weaponization of space and believes international treaties on arms control in outer space need to be negotiated.

'We hope that the international community, especially the major powers concerned, will adopt a cautious and responsible attitude to prevent outer space from becoming a new battlefield and work together to maintain lasting peace and tranquility in outer space,' he said.

President Trump (right) shakes hands with Gen. Jay Raymond (left), the new commander of Space Force, who he introduced at the event. Beijing claimed today 'the relevant U.S. actions are a serious violation of the international consensus on the peaceful use of outer space'

China's Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang (pictured) made the comments today

U.S. President Donald Trump signed a massive $738billion defense bill on Friday – which will officially establish the Space Force.

'With my signature today you will witness the birth of the Space Force,' he said. 'And that will be now officially the sixth branch of the United States armed forces.'

He signed the legislation at Joint Base Andrews - which he dubbed 'America's Airfield' as it houses Air Force One - before he departed to Mar-a-Lago for the Christmas holiday.

In this file photo taken on August 9, 2018, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence gestures during an event on the creation of a U.S. Space Force at the Pentagon. Beijing's foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang billed the force as a 'direct threat to outer space peace and security'

As part of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, the U.S. Air Force Space Command, which initially debuted in 1982, was rebranded the United States Space Force, effective immediately.

The 16,000 active duty airmen and civilians who served in the Air Force Space Command up until the moment the bill was signed, are now part of the newly-minted Space Force.

However, all those personnel would technically remain under the U.S. Air Force's wing - and not become members of the Space Force - for the moment, military officials told CNN.

China has announced that it will complete its $9billion global satellite navigation system Beidou - which aims to rival US-developed GPS - next year. In the picture above, a Long March-3B rocket carrying two BeiDou navigation satellites blasts off western China on November 23

The establishment of the Space Force is seen by the U.S. military as a recognition of the need to more effectively organize for the defense of U.S. interests in space - especially satellites used for navigation and communication. The Space Force is not designed or intended to put combat troops in space.

Space has 'evolved into a war-fighting domain of its own,' Defense Secretary Mark Esper told reporters Friday.

Space has become increasingly important to the U.S. economy and to everyday life. The Global Positioning System, for example, provides navigation services to the military as well as civilians. Its constellation of about two dozen orbiting satellites is operated by the 50th Space Wing from an operations center at Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado.

China has established a similar, independent network, the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, assembled from 42 separate satellite launches.

The Asian superpower announced this month that the $9billion Beidou system, which aims to rival US-developed GPS, will be complete next year.