US 'prepared' to go to war with China, says defence secretary amid threat of tariff retaliation

5 March 2025, 22:43 | Updated: 6 March 2025, 02:17

America is "prepared" to go to war with China, US defence secretary Pete Hegseth has said amid threats of retaliation over tariffs.

Mr Hegseth's comments came in response to a direct threat to Donald Trump, with China’s representatives in America saying: “If war is what the US wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we’re ready to fight till the end.”

The defence secretary said "peace comes through strength".

"We're prepared," he told Fox & Friends. "Those who long for peace must prepare for war."

He said that is why the US is rebuilding its military.

"If we want to deter war with the Chinese or others, we have to be strong, and that president understands peace comes through strength," he said.

It comes after the US hit China with 20 per cent tariffs in response to what the White House considers to be Chinese inaction over the flow of fentanyl into America.

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Despite a war of words between the two countries rapidly escalating, Mr Hegseth said that Mr Trump has a "great relationship" with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

"My job as the secretary of defence is to make sure we're ready," he continued. "We need the defence spending, the capabilities, the weapons and the posture in the Indo-Pacific, which is something we're very much focused on."

China has said that it will increase its defence budget by 7.2 per cent due to growing tensions. It comes in a bid to modernise its military.

In his Tuesday night address to Congress, Mr Trump announced further tariffs from April 2, including "reciprocal tariffs" and non-tariff actions aimed balancing out years of trade imbalances.

China has been making increasingly aggressive moves in Asia and the Pacific – including recent live-fire drills off the Australian coast, military exercises close to Taiwan and Vietnam and confrontations with the Philippine coast guard in the South China Sea.

Earlier this week, it was revealed that China is developing a new nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, which would be larger and more advanced than any vessel in its fleet, in an attempt to rival the US.

Today an online statement from China's foreign affairs ministry said: "Anyone using maximum pressure on China is picking the wrong guy and miscalculating.

"If the US truly wants to solve the fentanyl issue, then the right thing to do is to consult with China by treating each other as equals."

 A spokesperson also denounced China's alleged involvement in the deadly fentanyl crisis, saying "the US not anyone else, is responsible for the fentanyl crisis inside the US.

"In the spirit of humanity and goodwill towards the American people, we have taken robust steps to assist the US. in dealing with the issue. Instead of recognizing our efforts, the US has sought to smear and shift blame to China, and is seeking to pressure and blackmail China with tariff hikes.

"They've been PUNISHING us for helping them. This is not going to solve the US's problem and will undermine our counternarcotics dialogue and cooperation."

Despite Trump and Xi's alleged "good relationship", China and the US have reignited in a tit-for-tat trade for that spanned most of Trump's first four years in office and was continued to a certain extent under his successor Joe Biden.

Less than a month after returning to the White House on January 20, Trump slapped 10 per cent duties on all Chinese imports.

China responded with 15 per cent duties on coal and liquefied natural gas products, and a 10 per cent tariff on crude oil, agricultural machinery and large-engine cars imported from the US.

Beijing also launched an anti-monopoly investigation into Google and added PVH, the owner of US fashion brands Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein, to its "unreliable entity" list.

China also restricted the exports of five rare metals used as key components in the defense and clean energy industries among others.

Canada and Mexico have also vowed to take action against the US in response to Trump's tariffs.