Beijing, Mar 6 (EFE).- China warned on Thursday that no war should be fought, nor can one be won, in response to statements by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on his country’s military preparedness for a possible conflict with the Asian giant.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian accused Washington Thursday of “deliberately inciting ideological confrontation and hyping up the so-called ‘China threat.’”
“We urge the US to stop imposing its hegemonic logic onto China, abandon its outdated Cold War mentality (… and) refrain from using ‘strategic competition’ as a pretext for containing and suppressing China,” Lin said at his daily press conference.
“Whether it’s a military war or a trade war. Whether it’s a cold war or a hot war. None should be fought, and none can be won.”
Lin’s statements come a day after Hegseth said in a television interview that the US does not want a war with China, but that “those who long for peace must prepare for war,” thus justifying the military reinforcement ordered by President Donald Trump.
The US official was responding to the Chinese embassy in the US which, apparently aggravated by Washington’s tariffs imposition, warned on Wednesday: “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.”
Beijing has repeatedly rejected Washington’s arguments about the need to strengthen its army to counter a possible Chinese military threat.
The exchange of statements comes at a time of growing tensions between the two powers, marked by trade disputes and mutual accusations on security and geopolitical issues. EFE
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