Pentagon downplays China threat: What it means for US allies

US National Defense Strategy says Chinese threat is not a priority as Washington pivots to the Western Hemisphere.

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The United States no longer views China as a top security priority, according to the Pentagon’s 2026 National Defense Strategy (NDS), as President Donald Trump’s administration seeks to focus on the Western Hemisphere in a break from a decade of foreign policy that saw Beijing as the biggest threat to US security and economic interests.

The strategy document says US allies and partners such as South Korea “must shoulder their fair share of the burden of our collective defense”. This is in line with Trump’s rhetoric calling on US allies in Europe and the Asia Pacific to step up and boost their defences to counter security threats from Russia and North Korea.