China warns US 'must never play with fire' on Taiwan in rebuke of Hegseth for speech

China blasted Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth‘s speech at a defense forum in Singapore over the weekend, accusing him of trying “to sow discord” after he warned of a possibly “imminent” threat to Taiwan.

In a statement on Sunday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry criticized Hegseth’s remarks, saying the defense secretary invoked the “Cold War mentality for bloc confrontation” and “falsely” called China a “threat.”