Some Chinese state media criticised Washington’s new Asia-focused defence policy at the weekend, but political analysts in China said it was unclear yet whether this reflects a hardline response from Beijing to the strategy announced last week by Barack Obama.

In a rare Pentagon press conference, Mr Obama unveiled plans for a “smaller and leaner” military focused on potential threats from China and Iran, with reduced presence in Europe. Beijing has yet to issue any official reaction to the plan, but state media has carried sharply critical commentary, especially in overseas editions.

“Anyone with an inkling of strategy can easily see who the region’s security protector is, who the troublemaker is,” said a commentary in People’s Daily Overseas, a low circulation version of the Communist Party’s official newspaper aimed at overseas Chinese.

It echoed critical comments by Global Times, an English language publication that is affiliated with People’s Daily. Both reflect the views of some Chinese government leaders, but do not necessarily represent official government policy.

Xinhua, the state news agency, published a relatively muted response to the Obama plan. Xinhua warned the US to “abstain from flexing its muscles” and avoid acting like “a bull in a china shop”, but added that “if fulfilled with a positive attitude and free from a Cold War-style mentality”, the new US strategy would “not only be conducive to regional stability and prosperity, but be good for China, which needs a peaceful environment to continue its economic development”.

“I don’t think we have a clear sense yet of what the leadership thinks,” said Russell Leigh Moses, a Beijing-based political analyst, pointing out most domestic newspaper headlines in the past few days have been coverage of the government’s just-ended Financial Work Conference, rather than foreign policy.

“The main focus of the government is on finance not on foreign policy, that’s what the party media tells us . . . This is getting more play overseas than it is here,” he said.

“We haven’t heard from the Chinese leadership yet,” said Jia Qingguo, associate dean of the school of international studies at Beijing University. “Global Times has published views that are not of the Chinese leadership and the overseas edition of People’s Daily is trying to talk to a different audience.”

Mr Moses said: “There is no indication this planned shift in strategy is making anyone more anxious or angry than other announcements in the past.”

“People in Beijing are concerned about the change in the US defence posture,” said Mr Jia, but added he thinks the development is not unexpected. “China is rising and the relationship with the US has become more important.”

Professor Wang Yiwei, executive dean of the Institute of International and Public Affairs at Tongji University in Shanghai, agreed. “The background reflects US economic problems and the rise of Asia’s economic power,” he said.

Mr Obama did not mention China by name, but a strategy paper was blunter in describing potential military threats from Beijing, at one stage listing it alongside Iran as one of the principal challenges for the US.