Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said during a visit to U.S. military commands in Stuttgart, Germany, that President Donald Trump’s push for a “rapid peace deal in Ukraine” could allow the U.S. to shift resources to counter the alleged rising threat from China in the Indo-Pacific. “There’s just no doubt the communist Chinese ambitious ambitions are robust,” Hegseth claimed, reported AP. “Their view of the world is quite different than ours, and whoever carries that mantle is going to set the tone for the 21st century.” He also called out Beijing for what he called “pernicious intentions” in Ibero-America and across Africa. “America’s posture there, along with allies and partners, is going to matter about contesting that space,” he said.