White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Monday said the US is “concerned” about China’s military buildup but that “we welcome stiff competition” after the Communist nation’s reported test of a hypersonic missile capable of delivering a nuclear bomb.
Word of the missile test stunned the US military. It came close to hitting its target after circumventing the globe — demonstrating a significant advance in China’s military capabilities, according to a report. The Chinese government claims it was a space mission, not a missile test.
“Generally speaking, we have made clear we are concerned about the military capabilities that the PRC continues to pursue,” Psaki said. “And we have been consistent in our approach with China. We welcome stiff competition, but we do not want that competition to veer into conflict. And that is certainly what we convey privately as well.”
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters Monday during a trip to Europe that “we watch closely China’s development of armament and advanced capabilities and systems that will only increase tensions in the region.”
The missile test happened in August and was first reported by the Financial Times, which said five sources described intelligence about the missile traversing low-orbit space and then missing the target by just two dozen miles.
“We have no idea how they did this,” one source told the Financial Times.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian denied that China tested a hypersonic missile.
“This was not a missile, this was a spacecraft. This is of great significance for reducing the cost of spacecraft use,” said Zhao, who is infamous for making false statements, including suggesting the US released COVID-19 in Wuhan.
President Biden reportedly is preparing to host a virtual summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this year.
Former President Donald Trump repeatedly floated brokering a major nuclear arms reduction treaty among the US, Russia and China, but the deal never materialized.
First son Hunter Biden still co-owns a Chinese investment firm that was formed 12 days after he joined his father aboard Air Force Two for a December 2013 trip to Beijing, according to recently reported business records. The Wall Street Journal reports that the company is co-owned by Chinese state-owned entities.
A 2017 email recovered from Hunter Biden’s laptop described a 10 percent set-aside for “the big guy” as part of a prospective deal involving a Chinese energy company. Former Hunter Biden business partner Tony Bobulinski said Joe Biden was the “big guy.”
