US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s comments that Washington is not seeking conflict with China marks a “significant shift” in policy that suggests the White House is looking for ways to coexist, according to a former Pentagon official.
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Chad Sbragia, former deputy assistant secretary of defence for China, told a security forum in Beijing on Wednesday that the language Hegseth used during a call with his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun was “unprecedented”.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Hegseth “made clear that the United States does not seek conflict with China nor is it pursuing regime change or strangulation of the PRC [People’s Republic of China]” in his first direct talks with Dong.
“That’s very unique language. That’s unprecedented by a secretary of defence to say that publicly,” Sbragia, who served under Donald Trump during his first term, told the Xiangshan forum.
“I know that runs counter to much of the Chinese assessment right now about where the United States … is at in terms of its view of China.
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“But that is a remarkable statement and it seems to me something the Chinese side must pick up on. That’s a significant shift in US policy.”