The US is prepared to go to war with China if necessary, the Pentagon has announced, following Beijing’s threat of tariff retaliation in what marks another escalation in an ongoing trade war between the world’s two largest economies.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth clarified the US position early on Wednesday in an interview with Fox News, responding to the Chinese Embassy in the US, which said Beijing was ready to fight “any” type of war.
“We are prepared,” Hegseth said, adding, “Those who long for peace must prepare for war.”
He further stated that this was why the US was rebuilding its military and restoring “deterrence in the warrior ethos.”