On Saturday, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth took to his official X account to describe a call he had just had with his Chinese counterpart, the Minister of National Defense, Admiral Dong Jun. The Secretary of War was following up on last week's meeting between President Trump and the Chinese leader Xi Jinping, and Secretary Hegseth described the call as "positive."
I just spoke to President Trump, and we agree — the relationship between the United States and China has never been better. Following President Trump’s historic meeting with Chairman Xi in South Korea, I had an equally positive meeting with my counterpart, China’s Minister of…
— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) November 1, 2025
The statement continues:
...China’s Minister of National Defense Admiral Dong Jun in Malaysia. And we spoke again last night. The Admiral and I agree that peace, stability, and good relations are the best path for our two great and strong countries. As President Trump said, his historic “G2 meeting” set the tone for everlasting peace and success for the U.S. and China. The Department of War will do the same — peace through strength, mutual respect, and positive relations. Admiral Dong and I also agreed that we should set up military-to-military channels to deconflict and deescalate any problems that arise. We have more meetings on that coming soon. God bless both China and the USA!
That's a hopeful note. The question is this: How far can we trust China? Talk, talk is better than war, war, and if President Trump and President Xi Jinping - who, we should remember, is also the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China - are talking, and now Secretary of War Hegseth and his Chinese counterpart are talking. Good.
Still, let's hope that President Trump and Secretary Hegseth both include a healthy dose of skepticism when dealing with their Chinese counterparts. This is still a nation that is dialing its military in, particularly its naval forces; they are engaging in a serious weapons buildup, and Xi and his comrades have to know that, given China's demographic woes, it won't be long before they are no longer able to play the global geopolitical games the way they can now.
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A little reading of Chinese history may be in order as well. Sun Tzu, the famous Chinese general, strategist, philosopher, and writer, in his famous book The Art of War, wrote:
All warfare is based on deception. Therefore, when capable, feign incapacity; when active, inactivity. When near, make it appear that you are far away; when far away, that you are to lure him; feign disorder and strike him. When he concentrates, prepare against him; where he is strong, avoid him. Anger his general and confuse him. Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance.
It's hard to get a read on what's happening here. If China does have military designs on the western Pacific, on Taiwan, perhaps even the Philippines, or (worse) Japan, we're still at the stage where they would be playing nice. They can't take on the United States in a straight fight - yet. If we can keep up with our current plans to get our own military waterfowl arranged in a linear manner, they might not ever be able to.
But consider that Sun Tzu quote above. If China's war planners, and we know they have them, have even three IQ points to rub together, they surely are familiar with Sun Tzu. Most military people, in my experience, have at least read parts of The Art of War.
Sun Tzu also wrote:
Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.
That, too, is something we could expect from China.
Talk, yes. Express optimism and hope, absolutely. But stand always ready, like a pistol in a well-oiled holster.
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