Former Trump Administration National Security Advisor Thinks China Is ‘Preparing’ For War

Retired Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, who served as National Security Advisor under former President Donald Trump, has asserted that Chinese President Xi Jinping is preparing his people “for war.”

While appearing on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” on a panel discussing the foreign policy outlook for 2023, McMaster pointed to China’s desire to regain control of Taiwan and more — warning that the U.S. should not “fall into the same traps” of “confirmation bias” as it did when it came to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“It’s a grave threat,” the former national security advisor said. “I think Xi Jinping means what he says, right? I think we have to be careful not to mirror image, not to fall into the same traps as we did with Vladimir Putin of confirmation bias and optimism bias. Xi Jinping has made quite clear in his statements that he’s going to make, from his perspective, China whole again by subsuming Taiwan. And the preparations are underway.”

McMaster went on to say that “deterrence” is very important in dealing with the threat posed by China, adding that it must be “good old-fashioned deterrence by denial.”

“I mean, hard power matters,” he continued. “And I think we are underinvested in defense in the United States. China has become increasingly aggressive, not only from an economic and financial perspective and a diplomacy perspective but physically with its military.”

While McMaster claimed that the U.S. has “underinvested in defense,” he argued that China is preparing for war — citing speeches from the communist country’s dictator discussing sacrifice and restoring national greatness.

“And what’s really disturbing is I think Xi Jinping is preparing the Chinese people for war,” he said. “In some of his speeches, he said, well, for us to restore China to national greatness, it’s going to take some – some sacrifices.”

“So I think we have to take it very seriously and act to extend… our power,” McMaster added. “We talk a lot about relying on our allies, and then maybe if we take a step back, the allies will do more. I think actually the opposite is the case. If Americans just do a little bit more, many of our allies will follow suit and bolster their defense capabilities and capacity as well.”

Meanwhile, the Biden administration has apparently accidentally given China the green light to invade Taiwan — as Secretary of State Antony Blinken essentially said during a press conference that the U.S., which is currently funding Ukraine in their war with Russia, would not be able to support two allies at once.