US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has become the first American defence chief in decades to accompany a sitting president on a state visit to China, in a rare departure from long-established diplomatic practice.
Hegseth boarded Air Force One bound for Beijing alongside US President Donald Trump on Tuesday afternoon, according to the White House.
Trump is set to hold highly anticipated bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday and Friday.
A South China Morning Post tally shows it is the first time a US president has travelled to China with his defence secretary in tow since Richard Nixon’s groundbreaking visit in 1972 started the process of normalising relations.
It will also be Hegseth’s first trip to China since taking up the post and the first US defence chief to visit China in nearly eight years.
Previous US defence secretaries have generally arranged their China visits as stand-alone trips.
The last US defence secretary to visit China was James Mattis in June 2018, when he met Xi.
Trump’s visit comes as China and the US engage in fierce competition in fields ranging from the military to artificial intelligence, alongside an ongoing trade dispute.
The world’s two largest military spenders also remain at odds over a range of regional security issues, including the South China Sea and the Middle East.
The talks are also taking place against the backdrop of the conflict with Iran and turbulence in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical strategic chokepoint for global energy supplies, and one of particular importance to China, which imports significant volumes of Middle Eastern oil.
That war has generated intense controversy inside the US as well, from Capitol Hill to the broader public.
Before boarding Air Force One, Hegseth had spent Tuesday morning testifying before the Senate in defence of the White House’s record US$1.5 trillion military spending request submitted early last month, fielding pointed questioning from senators over the Iran war.
The budget includes plans to revitalise the US shipbuilding industry, enhance space warfare capabilities and modernise the nuclear arsenal, all areas where Washington faces fierce competition from Beijing.
In subsequent congressional testimonies by Pentagon officials and US military generals regarding the budget, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was identified as the primary rival. Several stated that the US military’s primary mission in the Indo-Pacific region is to “deter China”.
It remains unclear whether Hegseth will meet Chinese defence minister Dong Jun in Beijing.
The two have met in person only once, on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus in Malaysia on October 31 last year.
At that meeting, Hegseth reiterated remarks he had made in a September 2025 phone call with Dong, saying Washington had no intention of provoking conflict.
According to a Chinese defence ministry statement, Dong said at the time that: “We hope the US will take concrete action to support its statements of not containing China and not seeking conflict.”
Less than two months later, senior defence officials from the two countries met in Washington, in the latest sign of a resumption of military communication.
Whether Hegseth’s visit to Beijing will translate into a broader strengthening of high-level military exchanges between the two sides remains to be seen.
Military dialogue had previously been frozen for more than a year after Beijing suspended it in protest at then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s August 2022 visit to Taiwan.
Beijing regards Taiwan as part of China to be reunified, by force if necessary. Most countries, including the United States, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington opposes any attempt to take the self-ruled island by force and is committed to providing the island with weapons. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
