Washington’s commitment to a significantly higher defence budget, alongside other policy shifts under President Donald Trump, reflected long-term strategic planning aimed at boosting military deterrence against China, observers said.
However, they added that the US drive did not pose an imminent threat to Beijing.
Trump and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday pledged to raise the Pentagon’s budget to a record US$1 trillion, a significant jump from the US$892 billion that Congress allocated for national defence this year.
The move contrasts with sweeping federal spending cuts ordered since Trump returned to office in January. It also comes as escalating tit-for-tat-tar tariffs drive the US-China trade war to new heights.
On Wednesday, US tariffs on imports from China were raised to 125 per cent, from 104 per cent hours earlier, bringing the effective tariff rate to about 136 per cent since Trump’s first term in office. Meanwhile, Beijing’s new levy on US goods has risen to 84 per cent, also on top of earlier-imposed tariffs.
This has heightened fears of further decoupling between the world’s top two economies and of rising geopolitical risks, including potential direct conflict.
