Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared early Wednesday that the US is “prepared” to go to war with China, hours after alarming threats from Beijing in response to President Trump’s stiff new tariffs, New York Post reports.
“We’re prepared,” Hegseth said on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” in response to China saying it was “ready to fight” any “type of war.”
“Those who long for peace must prepare for war,” Hegseth said, stressing it was important to “be strong.”
“That’s why we’re rebuilding our military. That’s why we’re re-establishing deterrence in the warrior ethos. We live in a dangerous world with powerful, ascendant countries with very different ideology.”
“If we want to deter war with the Chinese or others, we have to be strong.”
Hegseth’s threat came after China declared late Tuesday they were ready to clap back if the US was bent on waging a trade or tariff war — soon after Trump’s initial 10% tariff on Chinese imports doubled to 20%.
China has accused the US defence chief of provoking an “ideological confrontation” with his suggestion that Washington has to maintain its strength in the face of Beijing’s “rapidly increasing” military budget, South China Morning Post reports.
“The relevant remarks by the US official are deliberately provoking ideological confrontation and shouting about the threat from China,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Thursday.
“We call on the US not to [apply] its hegemonic logic to China, not to view China-US relations with outdated cold war thinking, and not to use strategic competition as a means to contain and suppress China.
“China’s position is clear and consistent: whether it’s a tariff war or a trade war, whether it’s a cold war or a hot war, it can’t be fought and it can’t be won”, Lin Jian said on Thursday.
