Pentagon Chief: US Faces Pivotal Years in Countering China

Pentagon Chief: US Faces Pivotal Years in Countering China
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks during a briefing at the Pentagon in Washington on Nov. 16, 2022. Susan Walsh/AP Photo
The Associated Press
Updated:

SIMI VALLEY, Calif.—The United States is at a pivotal point with China and will need military strength to ensure that American values, not Beijing’s, set global norms in the 21st century, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Saturday.

Austin’s speech at the Reagan National Defense Forum capped a week in which the Pentagon was squarely focused on China and the threat it poses to America’s position in the world.