China on Sunday denounced US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth for calling the Asian country a threat, accusing him of touting a Cold War mentality. 

The foreign ministry also accused the US of inciting confrontation in the region. “No country in the world deserves to be called a hegemonic power other than the US itself,” it said. 

Hegseth said in Singapore on Saturday that the US will bolster its defences overseas to counter “rapidly developing threats by Beijing.” “We are not going to sugarcoat it… the threat China poses is real,” he said.