China warns US ‘not to play with fire’ over Taiwan issue after Hegseth’s remarks

China 'strongly deplores' Hegseth's comments on Taiwan

China has warned the United States over the Taiwan issue, saying it "should not play with fire," and confirmed it had lodged formal representations with Washington over remarks made by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

“The US should not try to use the Taiwan issue as a bargaining chip to contain China and must not play with fire," the Chinese foreign ministry stated.

This comes after Pete Hegseth stated that issued a waring about the growing threat from China calling it "real and potentially imminent" urging the Indo-Pacific allies to ramp up defence spending in the face of Beijing’s assertiveness.

“There is no reason to sugarcoat it. The threat China poses is real. And it could be imminent," Hegseth said in a speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue.

“Beijing is credibly preparing potentially to use military force to alter the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific," with People’s Liberation Army (PLA) forces training daily to take military action against Taiwan, he added.

He added that the Chinese military was building the capabilities to invade Taiwan and “rehearsing for the real deal”.

China's foreign ministry stated it had formally raised strong objections with the United States over Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s remarks, expressing deep disapproval.

Beijing reiterated that Taiwan is an internal matter and asserted that no external forces have the right to interfere.