War Talk

China says it is ‘ready for war’ with America

Beijing boosts defence spending by 7.2 per cent and warns Washington that it is prepared to ‘fight until the end’
Sarah Newey


Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, listens to the opening session of an annual political meeting addressing the top legislature in Beijing on Wednesday Credit: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images


China has said it is “ready for war” with America as it raises defence spending and imposes retaliatory tariffs on US imports.

In a direct threat to Donald Trump, China’s representatives in America said: “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 until the end.”

The US has hit China with 20 per cent tariffs in response to what the White House considers to be Chinese inaction over the flow of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, into America.

Beijing has responded by announcing plans to boost defence spending by 7.2 per cent and hit the US with reciprocal tariffs of 10 to 15 per cent on certain imports from March 10.

In combative statements online, China’s ministry of foreign affairs and US embassy warned Washington that “intimidation does not scare us” and criticised Mr Trump for linking tariffs to the fentanyl crisis.

The fiery language comes as China’s top legislature met for annual Two Sessions meetings in Beijing, where the plans to boost defence spending were revealed.

The rise in spending is equal to the jump last year and takes the official budget to roughly 1.78 trillion yuan (£190 billion), as China pursues the goal of Xi Jinping, its president, to build a modern military by 2027.

Military delegates arrive for the annual political gathering in Beijing on Wednesday Credit: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images


On Wednesday, Li Qiang, China’s premier, vowed there would be “all out efforts” to hit the target in his annual address to the legislature.

He said Beijing “will step up military training and combat readiness so as to firmly safeguard China’s sovereignty, security and development interests”.

China has stoked alarm with 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. Japan, South Korea and India have all criticised the projections of military might.

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.

Although Beijing has the second-largest military budget in the world, it remains dwarfed by American spending – even accounting for Mr Trump’s plans to cut the US budget by eight per cent over the next five years.

The US military budget for 2025 stands at around $850 billion (£662 billion). Although the Pentagon says China spends more than it publicly declares – up to $450 billion, when items listed in other budgets are included – the official sum still represents less than two per cent of GDP, below Sir Keir Starmer’s proposed spend of 2.5 per cent.

China has the second-largest military budget in the world, but it still remains dwarfed by American spending Credit: Jade Gao/AFP


Analysts have said that, despite the strong rhetoric, China is not yet actively gearing up for war. Its strong language was triggered by the Trump administration’s tariffs, which also hit Mexico and Canada and came into force on Tuesday.

Mr Li was bullish about the possible economic hit during his address on Wednesday, setting out a five per cent growth goal for the third year straight. Yet China is facing difficult economic headwinds at home, while the US tariffs could hit the superpower’s critical export industry hard.

Beijing has lodged complaints at the World Trade Organisation, but also responded to the US with additional tariffs, plus new export restrictions for designated American entities.

In the posts on X, the ministry of foreign affairs hit out at Mr Trump for linking the trade war to the fentanyl crisis, saying: “The fentanyl issue is a flimsy excuse to raise US tariffs on Chinese imports. Our counter-measures to defend our rights and interests are fully legitimate and necessary.

“Intimidation does not scare us. Bullying does not work on us. Pressuring, coercion or threats are not the right way of dealing with China.”

Donald Trump and Xi Jinping met at the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, in 2019 Credit: Kevin Lemarque/Reuters


Prof James Char Tze Siang, an assistant professor in the China programme at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said the statements are in keeping with combative “wolf warrior” diplomacy previously deployed by Beijing.

He said: “It is usual for the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] government to talk tough against what it perceives as attempts by foreign countries to put pressure on Beijing to stop its rise or influence its policies.This is but another episode in the fluctuating Sino-US relationship since their rapprochement in 1972.”

Philip Shetler‑Jones, a senior research fellow in Indo-Pacific Security at the Royal United Services Institute, said: “The language is not that new, but the context is.In this instance, the tweet seems to be in the context of tariffs, so I don’t find it particularly alarming.”

However, he added: “Maybe the change in tone reveals a concern on the China side that Trump is normalising the Russia relationship to clear the deck in preparation for really focusing all his attention on the competition with China.”