China issued a blistering response after U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said "the threat China poses is real."

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has warned of China posing an "imminent" threat to Taiwan, while urging Asian countries to boost defence spending and work with the US to deter war. While the US does not "seek to dominate or strangle China",

While speaking in Singapore, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told allies in the Indo-Pacific that the United States would continue to stand by them amid "imminent" threats from China.

The flurry of punitive measures taken against China by the Trump administration over the last few days was prompted by a belief among US officials that China has failed to live up to commitments it made in trade talks earlier this month,