TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — China criticized US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s comments on Taiwan as a provocation, after he warned a Chinese invasion of the island “could be imminent.”
Speaking at the 2025 Shangri-La Dialogue on Saturday, Hegseth highlighted the growing threat posed by China, particularly the risk of a military attack on Taiwan, per the Financial Times. He said China’s military “is rehearsing for the real deal.”
“We are not going to sugarcoat it — the threat China poses is real. And it could be imminent,” Hegseth said, adding that Chinese leader Xi Jinping has ordered the People’s Liberation Army to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027.
He warned that any attempt by China to seize Taiwan would result in devastating global consequences and urged US allies in Asia to boost defense spending to help deter Beijing.
In response on Sunday, Chinese Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang condemned Hegseth’s remarks as “provocations.” He said the comments distorted China’s position and were aimed at sowing division in the region.
Beijing reiterated that Taiwan is an internal affair and warned the US to “never play with fire” on the issue.
China’s foreign ministry also criticized Hegseth’s speech, accusing him of vilifying China and adopting a Cold War mindset in US-China relations. “No country in the world deserves to be called a hegemonic power other than the US itself,” the ministry said.
During the forum, top EU foreign policy official Kaja Kallas reportedly questioned whether the US feared its rhetoric could trigger miscalculation by China. Hegseth replied that the US did not believe so and emphasized that Washington is not seeking conflict with Beijing.
Kallas also criticized the Trump administration’s trade wars, arguing they undermine unity among allies confronting China. “They think that having these trade wars with everybody is making them stronger. I actually think that it’s making all the alliances and all the allies … weaker when you want to confront the economic power that China has,” she told FT.
