China Has Built Its Military Specifically to Defeat the United States, Air Force Secretary Warns

America's top civilian in charge of the U.S. Air Force warned Monday that China has been preparing for war for 20 years, specifically for a war with the United States.

Speaking at the Air & Space Forces Association's 2023 Air, Space & Cyber Conference in Maryland, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall said: “China has been re-optimizing its forces for great power competition and to prevail against the U.S. in the Western Pacific for over 20 years.

"China has been building a military capability specifically designed to achieve their national goals and to do so if opposed by the United States."

The Secretary said China had created two new military forces, including a Rocket Force that is designed to attack U.S. assets, including aircraft carriers and forward airfields.

His comments came less than a day after Republican Presidential hopeful Nikki Haley branded China "an enemy" in an interview with CNN.

Kendall said that while terrorism should still be a focus for security forces, the U.S. needs to adapt to focus on competition among "great powers."

“The threat of attack from violent extremist organizations still exists, and we will address those threats as they occur," he said.

"But China is by far out-pacing challenge."

Kendall added that war was not inevitable, but that Congress needs to avoid budgetary gridlocks to make sure the military had the resources it needed in case of escalations.

“Our job is to deter that war and to be ready to win if it occurs,” Kendall said. “We’re all talking about the fact that the Air and Space Forces must change, or we could fail to prevent and might even lose a war.

Kendall had already urged staff within the Air and Space Forces to be faster at putting objectives in place around meeting challenges posed by China, in a memo sent on September 5.

“It has become clear to the entire senior leadership team that we are not optimized for great power competition,” the memo said.

“… Accordingly, we will conduct a major initiative over the next several months to identify and implement the changes needed to meet our pacing challenge. This initiative will involve a comprehensive look at all aspects of how we organize, train and equip the Air Force and Space Force.”

In recent days, Vice President Kamala Harris spoke of tensions between herself and Chinese President Xi Jinping during a recent meeting, while warnings have come that China is learning tactics from current and former U.S. troops.

U.S. support for Taiwan has also heightened tensions with Beijing, which views the country as part of China.

Kendall warned that the way the world viewed Russia's invasion of Ukraine could be reflected should China choose to take action in Taiwan.

“If our power projection capability and capacity are not adequate to deter Chinese aggression against Taiwan or elsewhere, war could occur. If it does, and we cannot prevail, the results could cast a long shadow,” Kendall added.

He told the conference that, despite his "impatience," progress was being made to modernize the Air and Space Forces to meet possible threats.