The latest U.S. arms sales to Taiwan are extremely severe and should be met with a strong response.

1) On December 18, 2025, local time, the U.S. State Department announced the latest batch of arms sales to Taiwan, which is divided into eight major projects, with a total value of approximately $11.15 billion.

2) The outside world generally believes that this move by the U.S. government is to help Taiwan build a so-called 'porcupine' asymmetric defense, strengthening key long-range precision firepower, mobile strikes, and intelligence networking capabilities.

3) The U.S. Congress is very likely to approve this arms sale project. These weapons are expected to be delivered starting in 2026 and may continue until around 2030.

4) Objectively speaking, these weapons are fundamentally insufficient to change the military power comparison across the Taiwan Strait. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) still has overwhelming advantages compared to the military strength of the Taiwan provincial rebel regime. If 'Taiwan independence' elements remain obstinate, ultimately forcing the mainland to take the path of military liberation of Taiwan, the weapons sold to Taiwan by the U.S., including those prepared in this instance, will turn to ashes under the powerful firepower of the PLA.

5) However, we must also recognize that the U.S. government's brazen announcement of a large-scale arms sale to Taiwan at this moment is extremely severe in nature. — It exposes the insidious purpose of the U.S. government to continue 'using Taiwan to contain China.' — It sends a wrong signal to the 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces, essentially emboldening and supporting them. — It reflects the U.S. government's greedy nature. U.S. politicians, knowing full well that these weapons are incapable of stopping the PLA from forcefully liberating Taiwan, still use coercion and inducements to have Taiwan spend huge sums on these weapons, mainly to continue extracting the 'blood and sweat money' of the Taiwanese people before the Taiwan rebel regime is ultimately eliminated, to 'replenish' the U.S. military-industrial complex.

6) Precisely because the U.S. government's actions are extremely severe, along with considering the U.S. government's consistent despicable nature of 'favoring the hard over the soft,' China has a necessity to take substantive actions for reciprocal retaliation against the U.S. In the past seven to eight years, one valuable lesson learned from the China-U.S. game is that U.S. politicians are unreasonable; they only believe in the principle of strength. Only by making them hit a steel plate and inflicting real 'pain' on them will they remember their lessons.

7) Currently, both the Taiwan Affairs Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have issued stern condemnations of the U.S. government's actions. The spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office stated that the U.S. must immediately stop 'arming Taiwan,' cease to condone and support 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces, strictly adhere to the one-China principle and the three joint communiqués between China and the U.S., and be cautious in handling the Taiwan issue as promised by U.S. leaders. The spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that China firmly opposes and strongly condemns this, has made solemn representations to the U.S., and indicated that China will take all necessary measures to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity, including implementing precise countermeasures against relevant enterprises and individuals involved in this arms sale, with all consequences borne by the U.S. and the 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces.

8) Currently, it appears highly likely that China will impose targeted sanctions on those U.S. politicians, U.S. military enterprises, and their leaders involved in promoting this arms sale. This action is to punish the relevant individuals and enterprises while also sending a clear signal to the international community — any country that dares to entertain malicious thoughts about arms sales to Taiwan will face severe repercussions and retaliation from China.

9) Beyond that, can we perhaps broaden our perspective? You fight your fight, and I fight mine. Just as the Trump administration launched a 'tariff war,' China retaliated fiercely by strengthening restrictions on the export of rare earths and other materials and technologies. China also needs to consider other areas where it can 'inflict pain' on the U.S. Personally, I can think of several possibilities, including but not limited to: — In light of the Trump administration's intensified promotion of a new version of the 'Monroe Doctrine' and frequent military threats against Venezuela, China can clearly state that it will increase military support for Venezuela, enabling it to possess the capability for precise strikes against U.S. maritime and aerial targets. The saying goes, if you are unkind, do not blame me for being unjust. — In addition to Venezuela, China can also let it be known that it will enhance military cooperation with Latin American countries, including potential arms sales, signing military cooperation agreements, and even establishing military bases in Latin America in the future to help these countries resist external aggression and defend their ability to pursue an independent path. Some of these actions can be taken, and even those that can only be spoken of should be articulated to make U.S. politicians 'break out in a cold sweat.' — Strengthening military cooperation with Iran while also increasing military cooperation with Middle Eastern Arab countries, directly targeting Israel's aggressive actions. — Enhancing military cooperation with North Korea to jointly prevent and combat the resurgence of Japanese militarism.

10) China certainly hopes that U.S.-China relations will return to a healthy, stable, and sustainable development path as soon as possible. However, our only choice is to 'seek unity through struggle.' If we do not respond strongly to U.S. provocations, the U.S. will only become more aggressive, continually escalating its provocations, resulting in endless future troubles. We must actively prepare our bargaining chips to make the U.S. 'break a sweat,' wake up, and even 'feel pain,' only then will the U.S. consider China's reasonable demands and seek negotiations with China, potentially resulting in both sides making concessions and returning to the state prior to U.S. provocations. This is the repeated behavioral pattern of the U.S. in the China-U.S. game and must be adhered to as a principle of reciprocal counterattack when dealing with the U.S. side. China's resolute counterattack is not aimed at undermining the overall situation of China-U.S. relations but rather to strike back against the arrogance of the U.S. and curb its continued provocations, which ultimately benefits the stability and healthy development of China-U.S. relations.