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China to Hegseth: US on Path to 'Fire and Suffering'
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A senior Chinese defense official on Thursday accused the U.S. of betraying Beijing's trust by continuing to sell arms to self-ruled Taiwan.
The remarks at the Chinese Defense Ministry's month-end press conference were a direct response to recent testimony given by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who had described China as America's "pacing threat."
Why It Matters
China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own, although the Chinese Communist Party has never ruled there. Taipei is a key U.S. security partner in the center of the so-called first island chain in the Western Pacific.
The U.S. is Taiwan's biggest arms supplier, allowing the island push back against Beijing's sovereignty claims for decades. However, Taipei may soon find itself overwhelmed by China's growing hard power across the Taiwan Strait.
At a Pentagon budget hearing earlier in June, Hegseth told the Senate Appropriations Committee that recent Chinese military exercises around Taiwan point to Beijing's preparations to attack before the end of the decade.
What To Know
"The U.S. side has repeatedly broken its promises and insisted on arming Taiwan. This will only lead to its own fire and suffering," Chinese defense spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang told reporters in Beijing.
Washington sells defensive weapons to Taiwan under the auspices of the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979. China doesn't recognize the legitimacy of the U.S. domestic law and sought in February to warn President Donald Trump against further weapons transfers.
Zhang did not elaborate on what he meant by "broken its promises" but appeared to be referring to a 1982 U.S.-China joint communique, in which Beijing said Washington had committed to gradually reducing arms sales to Taipei. U.S. officials later clarified that the pledge was based on the condition that China also dial down its threats to take Taiwan by force.
"We urge the U.S. side to establish an objective and rational view of China, stop using China as a talking point to deceive and mislead the American people and the international community, and instead create favorable conditions for the development of relations between the two countries and the two militaries," Zhang said.
The U.S. State Department did not immediately return a written request for comment.
A stock image shows the Chinese destroyer Jinan 105 moored at a jetty on June 25, 2025, in the Chinese port of Qingdao.
A stock image shows the Chinese destroyer Jinan 105 moored at a jetty on June 25, 2025, in the Chinese port of Qingdao.
Johannes Neudecker/picture-alliance/dpa/AP
Earlier, Hegseth told U.S. lawmakers that China was undergoing "an unprecedented military buildup" that could threaten American military supremacy globally. President Donald Trump has ordered a revival of the U.S. defense industrial base to stay ahead in fields such a "emerging technologies and new weapons," he said.
It was the second time in a month that Beijing had lashed out against the U.S. defense chief over his remarks. After a prickly speech by Hegseth at Asia's top security forum in Singapore at the end of May, China's Defense Ministry accused the Pentagon leader of "deeply ingrained hegemonic logic and Cold War mentality."
China's Foreign Ministry said: "Hegseth deliberately ignored the call for peace and development by countries in the region, and instead touted the Cold War mentality for bloc confrontation, vilified China with defamatory allegations, and falsely called China a 'threat.' The remarks were filled with provocations and intended to sow discord. China deplores and firmly opposes them and has protested strongly to the U.S."
What People Are Saying
Pete Hegseth, U.S. secretary of defense, in a statement to the Senate Appropriations Committee on June 11: "When an opponent sees our well-equipped and tough-as-nails warriors, they will decide that today is not the day to test American resolve…The Indo-Pacific is our priority theater and China is our pacing threat. That's why I've traveled to the Indo-Pacific twice already to visit our forces and meet with our allies and partners."
Zhang Xiaogang, spokesperson for China's Ministry of Defense: "Major countries should not treat relations like a zero-sum game. Peaceful coexistence is the bottom line that China and the United States should jointly uphold. China's development poses no threat to any country. China has never engaged in things like deterrence and coercion as some countries do. The Chinese military has always been a firm force for maintaining world peace."
What Happens Next
A U.S.-China confrontation over the future of Taiwan could potentially escalate into a nuclear conflict. Pentagon officials say the Trump administration's goal is to prevent an attack on the island by Beijing in the coming years.
A recent poll by the Ronald Reagan Institute found 70 percent of Americans, including 70 percent of Republicans and 75 percent of Democrats, would support U.S. military action to defend Taiwan if China attempted an invasion or blockade.
