China is willing to fight nuclear war with U.S.

This is some of the most disturbing news I have heard in ... well, ever.

Voice of America reports:

A senior military official in Beijing says China would be prepared to use nuclear weapons against the United States if Washington intervenes in any future conflict over Taiwan.

Major General Zhu Chenghu, a professor at China's National Defense University, told a group of foreign journalists that he does not anticipate war between China and the United States. However, in General Zhu's words, "If the Americans are determined to interfere" on the Taiwan issue, then China "will be determined to respond."

Such a conflict would be extremely costly to both countries, the general says, but under what he calls "war logic," China would have to rely on its nuclear arsenal, because it sees itself as unable to win a conventional war against the United States.

A U.S. State Department spokesman calls General Zhu's remark "irresponsible."