‘Ready to fight till the end’: Understanding Beijing’s new turn of phrase

How should we understand the widely reported statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson: “If war is what the US wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we’re ready to fight till the end.”

Many have interpreted this as an escalation in the war of words, from the Chinese side at least. It strikes an ominous chord insomuch as rarely do we hear such a direct statement from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs directly, one that is then repeated in various official social media accounts around the world. 

In short, this isn’t the sort of bravado we often hear from the Ministry of Defence, Global Times, or one of the so-called “wolf warrior” diplomats who either go off message or do so as directed with some distance from the centre.

Furthermore, it’s especially striking because in the last few months leading up to the US election, official statements from China as well as reporting in state media have treated Washington with kid gloves, waiting to see what path Donald Trump wanted to take without getting sucked into some downward spiral of tit-for-tat, which Trump typically adores. 

Now, as it’s clear the new US administration is moving rather aggressively against China, this new direct statement is a signal that the gloves are off, discursively speaking at least.

We might also wonder whether this marks a pivot in Beijing, one that is preparing for a phase of more direct confrontation with the US. If American disengagement from Ukraine finally clears the path for Washington to direct its full attention against China, as some speculate, then now is the time for Beijing to stand unambiguously firm, even to the point of saying it’s ready for war should the US provoke it.

On the one hand, such a stance is consistent with Beijing’s assertion that in this new era, China has returned to the centre of the world stage as a major power, one that is already constructively realising the emergence of a multipolar world. 

On the other hand, Trump has demonstrated on a number of occasions the value of caution when it comes to dealing with Russia, repeatedly raising the spectre of a possible third world war should the relationship be mishandled. 

This provides an important context as Trump moves to resolve President Joe Biden’s war against Russia: US leaders promised a Russian defeat and the destruction of the Russian economy. Yet, here we are today, a US president likely to negotiate terms that confirm Russian victory, and do so without his allies or even Ukraine at the table.

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